Nocturnal soil CO₂ uptake and its relationship to subsurface soil and ecosystem carbon fluxes in a Chihuahuan Desert shrubland

Despite their prevalence, little attention has been given to quantifying arid land soil and ecosystem carbon fluxes over prolonged, annually occurring dry periods. We measured soil [CO 2 ] profiles and fluxes ( F s ) along with volumetric soil moisture and temperature in bare interplant canopy soils and in soils under plant canopies over a three‐month hot and dry period in a Chihuahuan Desert shrubland. Nocturnal F s was frequently negative (from the atmosphere into the soil), a form of inorganic carbon exchange infrequently observed in other deserts. Negative F s depended on air‐soil temperature gradients and were more frequent and stronger in intercanopy soils. Daily integrated ecosystem‐level F s was always positive despite lower daily F s in intercanopy soils due to nocturnal uptake and more limited positive response to isolated rains. Subsurface [CO 2 ] profiles associated with negative F s indicated that sustained carbonate dissolution lowered shallow‐soil [CO 2 ] below atmospheric levels. In the morning, positive surface F s started earlier and increased faster than shallow‐soil F s , which was bidirectional, with upward flux toward the surface and downward flux into deeper soils. These dynamics are consistent with carbonate precipitation in conjunction with convection‐assisted CO 2 outgassing from warming air and soil temperatures and produced a pronounced diurnal F s temperature hysteresis. We concluded that abiotic nocturnal soil CO 2 uptake, through a small carbon sink, modulates dry season ecosystem‐level carbon dynamics. Moreover, these abiotic carbon dynamics may be affected by future higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and predictions of more prolonged and regular hot and dry periods.