Where the elements go when it rains: carbon and nutrient stocks of soil amended with stabilised organic matter.
The addition of compost to the soil can increase C and nutrient levels, but how these are affected by different rainfall regimes remain unknown. This study determines the carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stocks after drying and rewetting events in a compost-amended grassland ecosystem at 3 depths (0-5, 5-10, 10-30cm). Compost addition consistently increased C, N and P stocks despite altered rainfall but these improvements can only be detected by careful consideration of soil depths.
Ecology↗