Climate models predict that precipitation patterns will change in the coming decades, and in the U.S. Great Plains, the frequency and duration of summer droughts is predicted to increase. Because water is the most frequently limiting resource in arid and semi-arid systems, changes in water and nitrogen availability may cause linked carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) processes to become asynchronous, changing retention and loss patterns that control ecosystem function. In this study, I used 10-year drought manipulations of 25% and 50% reduced rainfall at the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research site to ask how biogeochemical pools are differentially affected by long-term drought. To quantify nitrogen dynamics throughout the growing season, I measured in situ N2O flux using trace gas flux chambers, and inorganic nitrogen pools using ion-exchange membranes. I also measured ANPP, BNPP, soil respiration, and soil organic carbon to capture changes in carbon dynamics. Long-term data show that vegetation cover was significantly reduced under drought, but only after 4 years of rainfall manipulation. Inorganic N accumulated 3-fold under 25% rainfall reduction, but N access by roots was water-limited. When accounting for soil moisture, CO2 gas flux was significantly higher in drought plots, but N2O emission was either not significantly different among treatments, or was higher in drought plots. This study suggests that after 10-years of drought, C and N cycles remain de-coupled, as observed in shorter drought studies. In addition, rainfall pulses under these conditions, or return of ambient rainfall, may result in increased nitrogen loss. These results have implications for accurately predicting the response of the shortgrass steppe and other semiarid ecosystems to climate change, and for elucidating major controls on linkages between carbon and nitrogen dynamics.