Comment on "A Reservoir of Nitrate Beneath Desert Soils

Authors: Jackson, RB, ST Berthrong, CW Cook, EG Jobbágy, RL McCulley

Walvoord et al. reported a large nitrate pool beneath desert soils (~104 kgN Ha-1) and similarly shaped soil nitrate and chloride profiles. Analyzing 16 new desert cores, we found nitrate values ~1-2 orders of magnitude lower (50-100 kgN Ha-1) and no relationship to chloride profiles. The generality of the deep nitrate pool is questioned.
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