The Contribution of Biological Soil Crust Carbon and Nitrogen Exchange to the Net Ecosystem Exchange Along an Elevation Gradient at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

The purpose of this project is to: 1.) determine how biological soil crust (BSC) cover changes along an elevation gradient and across seasons, 2.) determine how carbon and nitrogen exchanges of BSC communities vary with temperature along an elevation gradient in arid and semi-arid environments and, 3.) use photosynthetic and respiration rates of BSC communities to determine how the contribution of the BSC communities to whole ecosystem carbon exchange varies across the same gradient and over seasons.