Theory 42/Desert & Dryland/Carbon exchange
Dryland Carbon Is a Pulse Balance
The claim
Dryland carbon exchange is set by the ratio of respiration to assimilation in the days after rain, not by annual rainfall.
01Mechanism
Both fluxes respond to moisture but with different thresholds; the ratio determines whether a wet event is a net gain or loss.
02Prediction
Net exchange should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Net exchange tracking rainfall would remove the balance.