“…In comparison to interspaces, soils under the canopy of sagebrush tend to have elevated nutrient pools of carbon and nitrogen (Burke et al 1989, Bolton et al 1993, Bechtold and Inouye 2007, Davies et al 2007, potassium (Doescher et al1984, Chambers 2001, soil microbial biomass (Burke et al 1989, Bolton et al 1993, and higher rates of nitrogen mineralization (Bolton et al 1990). Distribution patterns for phosphorous, magnesium, and calcium, however, are less consistent; some report higher concentrations under shrubs (Doescher et al 1984, Chambers 2001, while others report no difference (Charley and West 1975, Doescher et al 1984, Burke et al 1989. The combination of these under-shrub microsite characteristics has been found to play an important role in the spatial distribution and abundance of the understory herbaceous vegetation with greater biomass, cover, and density found in the subcanopy zones of Artemisia species (Davies et al 2007).…”