Extreme Drought and Herbivory Redirect Recently Assimilated Carbon From Storage to Rapid Turnover Pathways in Grasslands.

Extreme drought and herbivory redirect recently assimilated carbon from storage to rapid turnover pathways in grasslands, reducing soil carbon recovery by up to 50%.

• Why it matters: Understanding how multiple environmental stresses influence carbon cycling is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to climate change and land use pressures, yet this remains poorly understood.
• What they did: The study used 13 C pulse labeling combined with drought, herbivory, and plant composition manipulations in a semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia, involving 150 plots to track carbon allocation and turnover.
• The result: Findings reveal that drought shifts carbon to roots and diminishes soil carbon recovery, while herbivory under drought enhances carbon transfer to herbivores and respiration, with plant composition affecting these dynamics.