Temporal and spatial variation in how vegetation alters the soil moisture response to climate manipulation

Aims: Soil water balance, key for ecosystem processes, is determined by multiple factors, including precipitation, temperature, slope and vegetation. How these interact with climate change and the relevant time scale of the interactions are poorly understood. We investigated the interplay among climate change, local abiotic conditions (slope) and biotic factors (vegetation or not) on soil water balance in a steppe grassland on the south exposure of a northern Mongolia valley.