Editing Environmental gradient (section)

===Soil characteristics===
[[Soil respiration]], the process of soil naturally releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, acts as an example of this. In areas where soil moisture is not limiting (with moisture being a key part of the respiration process), soil respiration increases with rising temperatures; thus, respiration patterns form the gradient, and higher emissions are observed in warmer ecosystems. Similarly, rate of precipitation has a positive correlation with respiration (as moisture no longer becomes a limiting factor). Thus, it not only is its own gradient (average precipitation across a range), but also connects with the respiration gradient and impacts it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Reynolds|first1=Lorien L.|last2=Johnson|first2=Bart R.|last3=Pfeifer‐Meister|first3=Laurel|last4=Bridgham|first4=Scott D.|date=2015|title=Soil respiration response to climate change in Pacific Northwest prairies is mediated by a regional Mediterranean climate gradient|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12732|journal=Global Change Biology|language=en|volume=21|issue=1|pages=487–500|doi=10.1111/gcb.12732|pmid=25205511|bibcode=2015GCBio..21..487R|s2cid=205142081 |issn=1354-1013|url-access=subscription}}</ref>