Climate change implications of soil temperature in the Mojave Desert, USA

Abstract

Soil temperature plays an important role in physical, biological, and microbiological processes occurring in the soil, but it is rarely reported as an indicator of climate change. A long-term soil temperature database, collected in the Mojave Desert region from 1982–2000, was used to examine the relationship between regional climate change and soil temperature. During this 19-year study period, there was a warming trend in the Mojave Desert region. The soil temperature in this region, measured at 50-cm deep, increased at an average rate of 0.79°C per decade. The temporal changes of soil temperature and those of air temperature were highly correlated. Elevation was the dominating factor that affected the spatiotemporal variations of soil and air temperature.