Long-term anthropogenic disturbances exacerbate soil organic carbon loss in hyperarid desert ecosystems

Anthropogenic disturbance is an important driver factor of global change, greatly affects the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. However, the long-term impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on SOC stability in hyperarid deserts remain poorly understood. Through a 16-year anthropogenic disturbance experiment, we evaluated SOC dynamics in hyper-arid desert ecosystem under five treatments: no-disturbance (CK), spring harvest, autumn harvest, fire, and irrigation (simulating artificial flooding). We analyzed SOC composition, sources and drivers across six soil layers (0-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-100, and 100-150 cm).