Carbon Balance in California Deserts: Impacts of widespread solar power generation A proposal by the University of California, Riverside Center for Conservation Biology

Our goal is to measure carbon balance of our southern California desert ecosystems, with a particular focus on teasing apart weathering of inorganic C and mineralization of organic C, versus sequestration by native desert communities in the face of soil and vegetation disturbances to place solar electricitygenerating projects. We will: 1) develop techniques to assess caliche layering and amounts, 2) assess exchange dynamics and rates of inorganic and organic C using natural abundance ratios of C and O in the dominant ecosystems of southern California deserts that are potentially subject to solar power development, 3) and design baseline datasets and models to quantify C exchange between soils and atmosphere in southern California deserts that are potentially subject to solar power development. Goals 1 and 2 will be undertaken in conjunction with the project proposed by Dr. Cameron Barrows on the Niche modeling for identifying potential impacts of renewable energy projects and the monitoring to asses those impacts across the region, and goal 3 will focus on quantifying exchanges in a wellcharacterized site (Boyd Deep Canyon) so as to be able to utilize a broader database background, and a site proposed for study by Dr. Alfredo Martinez-Morales, where we would be able to asses in an integrative way, the performance of solar PV and understand the potential impacts of solar development on the carbon balance including the species of the Salton Sea.