Abstract
Southern Siberia and western Mongolia are characterized by very cold, dry winters, and short, warm summers with modest or little precipitation. In the driest region that we investigated (119 mm annual precipitation), the upper part of two catenas had a larger fraction of microbial biomass in soil organic matter (6–12%) than the four other catenas (<4%) in less dry regions (260 and 442 mm). All six catenas had values ≤4% at the lowest position near the shore of saline lakes. Respiration per unit microbial biomass was similar within and among the catenas, except for the lowest position in three catenas, where enhanced values indicated microbial stress, probably due to high salinity.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
