CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

In arid and semiarid ecosystems primary productivity and nutrient cycling are directly related to the amount and seasonal distribution of precipitation. In these ecosystems, vegetation displays a patchy structure dominated by woody plants surrounded by grasses and bare soil. Through a combination of morphological, phenological, physiological, and biochemical traits, plants influence the quality and quantity of matter inputs to the soil and thus the biomass and activity of the soil biota responsible for carbon and nutrient dynamics. In this paper, we review the state of the knowledge on plant mechanisms and their impacts on ecosystems processes such as nitrogen and carbon cycling in the Monte Phytogeographical Province. We address the mechanisms of nitrogen conservation in the dominant plants life forms, the quantity and quality of leaf-litter and fine-root production and their effects on decomposition processes, soil organic matter accretion, and soil nitrogen immobilization and mineralization. Further, we compare and discuss these topics in connection with results obtained in other arid and semi-arid Phytogeographical Provinces.