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50 results for “biocrust”
Biocrust in compost addition plots in central New Mexico (2021-2024)
We investigated how 6.3 mm of surface-dressed compost (food-based vs. manure-based) at a central New Mexico, USA Tribal rangeland affected the temperature, soil C and N percent and stable isotope values values, and aggregate stability using the Herrick dip test.
Context dependency of effect of fungal connections between plants and biocrusts
Conceptual context: Species interactions may couple the resource dynamics of different primary producers and may enhance productivity by reducing loss from the system. In low-resource systems, this biotic control may be especially important for maintaining productivity. In drylands, the activities of vascular plants and biological soil crusts can be decoupled in space because biocrusts grow on the soil surface but plant roots are underground, and decoupled in time due to biocrusts activating with smaller precipitation events than plants. Soil fungi are hypothesized to functionally couple the plants and biocrusts by transporting nutrients. We studied whether disrupting fungi between biocrusts and plants reduces nitrogen transfer and retention and decreases primary production as predicted by the fungal loop hypothesis. Additionally, we compared varying precipitation regimes that can drive different timing and depth of biological activities. Methodological approach: We used field mesocosms in which the potential for fungal connections between biocrusts and roots remained intact or were impeded by mesh. We imposed a precipitation regime of small, frequent or large, infrequent rain events. We used 15N to track fungal-mediated nitrogen (N) transfer. We quantified microbial carbon use efficiency and plant and biocrust production and N content.
Simulated climate change reduced the capacity of lichen-dominated biocrusts to act as carbon sinks in two semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystems
<p> Biocrust gas exchange measurements used as input data for this study. The methods are described in detail in the related identifier paper.</p>
Hyperspectral reflectance values and biophysicochemical properties of biocrusts and soils in the Fryxell Basin, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2019)
This data package includes ecological parameters of biocrust and soil from samples collected in-situ within the Lake Fryxell Basin of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica during December of 2019. Parameters include biological (ash-free dry mass, pigment concentration, and counts of soil invertebrates), physical (water content, electrical conductivity, and pH), and chemical properties (inorganic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorous, total nitrogen, and total organic carbon) of the surface soil, biocrust, and underlying soil. This data package also contains reflectance measurements of biocrust, soil, and granite samples acquired in a laboratory using a hyperspectral spectrometer. Included are hyperspectral reflectance measurements of a laboratory study using a variety of mixtures of soil and biocrust (0 – 100% biocrust), as well as reflectance measurements of individual grab samples collected from each of the field plots. These data aid our understanding of the ecological structure and functioning of biocrust microhabitats as well as the location of these communities throughout the Lake Fryxell Basin. This work also aims to assist in understanding the carbon budget of the basin and highlight the importance of these snowpack-fed biocrust communities, which are understudied but likely an important piece of the overall carbon budget in this region.
Biophysicochemical properties and hyperspectral reflectance values of biocrust and soil samples, Fryxell Basin, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (2022)
This data package includes biophysicochemical properties of biocrust and soil samples collected in-situ within the Lake Fryxell basin of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica during December 2022 at 64 different terrestrial locations. These parameters include biological (ash-free dry mass, pigment concentration, soil invertebrate counts), physical (gravimetric water content, electrical conductivity, pH), and chemical (inorganic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorous, total nitrogen, soil organic carbon) properties of the surface soil, biocrust, and underlying soil. This package also contains reflectance measurements of individual grab samples of biocrust, soil, and rock collected from each of the field sites, acquired in a laboratory using a hyperspectral spectrometer. Additionally, this package contains parameters derived solely from geospatial data for each of the field sites, including aspect, slope, elevation, gravimetric water content, and snow frequency. These data were used to model habitat suitability of biocrusts in the Fryxell Basin using both in-situ field survey data and geospatial parameters. They aid in our understanding of the ecology of biocrust communities, where they are located throughout the Fryxell basin, and the structure and functioning of these microhabitats as well as improving understanding of the regional carbon budget. These data also highlight the importance of snow patch-associated biocrust communities, which are understudied but likely an important piece of the overall carbon budget in this region.
Effect of foot disturbance to cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts on microbes and nitrogen in Chihuhuahan grassland and shrubland
Interactions between plants and soil microbes influence plant nutrient transformations, including nitrogen (N) fixation, nutrient mineralization, and resource exchanges through fungal networks. Physical disturbances to soils can disrupt soil microbes and associated processes that support plant and microbial productivity. In low resource drylands, biological soil crusts ("biocrusts") occupy surface soils and house key autotrophic and diazotrophic bacteria, non-vascular plants, or lichens. Interactions among biocrusts, plants, and fungal networks between them are hypothesized to drive carbon and nutrient dynamics; however, comparisons across ecosystems are needed to generalize how soil disturbances alter microbial communities and their contributions to N pools and transformations. To evaluate linkages among plants, fungi, and biocrusts, we disturbed all unvegetated surfaces with human foot trampling twice yearly in dry conditions from 2013-2018 in cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts in Chihuahuan Desert grassland and shrubland ecosystems. Our study included microbial communities and N pools sampled at different time points in the disturbance treatments at one or both sites. We began our sampling after observations in April 2018 that the chlorophyll a content was at least double in control than disturbed plots in both ecosystems (Chung et al. 2019). Stomping occurred in May, and we collected soil and plant samples in June 2018 for N pools and soil and root fungal abundance. We collected additional soil samples in September 2018 and conducted the 15N tracer experiment to observe rates of N transfer from biocrust to plants before the fall stomp treatment in October. We collected chlorophyll a samples and soils for sequencing bacteria in September of 2019, also before the fall stomp treatment.
Biocrust disturbance experiment soil responses 2016
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) dominate soil surfaces in drylands, providing services that include soil stabilization and carbon uptake. In this study, we investigated the direct and biocrust-mediated effects of anthropogenic disturbances in two dryland ecosystems. We applied low intensity soil surface disturbance (twice-yearly footfalls) in grassland and shrubland ecosystems in northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA. Results. After five years of disturbance, biocrust photosynthetic capacity (chlorophyll a) declined by 44%. Declines were largest in interspaces between grassland plants. Levels of scytonemin, a biocrust sunscreen pigment, were 38% greater in shrubland than grassland and 44% greater under grass canopy than in interspaces, but decreased only 5% with disturbance. Disturbance reduced soil surface stability 2 times more in the grassland than shrubland. Disturbance effects on other hydrologic and physical properties were indirectly mediated by the photosynthetic capacity of biocrusts. Disturbance indirectly increased infiltration depth and shallow (2-3 cm) soil moisture in the grassland but reduced surface moisture (<1 cm) in the shrubland. Conclusions. Biocrusts were more sensitive to low intensity soil disturbance in a grassland than shrubland ecosystem. While biocrusts mediated the effects of soil disturbance on dryland soil hydrological and physical properties, the nature of their influence differed between ecosystem types.
Comparing greenhouse and field biocrust cultivation methods in the Sonoran Desert
<p><strong><span>Summary</span></strong></p> <p><span><span>1.<span> </span></span></span><span>Developing methods to use biocrusts in restoration is becoming more important as land use and climate change impact the health and intactness of high-stress ecosystems. Methods of cultivation to maximize production of biocrusts for use in restoration activities is necessary because salvage opportunities are limited. Our objective for this research was to determine an optimal method for scalable biocrust cultivation. </span></p> <p><span><span>2.<span> </span></span></span><span>We tested two Field and one Greenhouse cultivation methods. The Field cultivation methods had a base layer of weed cloth, soil, and irrigation with either 1) shade cloth immediately over the surface (Quesadilla method), or 2) with shade cloth over a 1m tall hoophouse (Hoophouse method). The Greenhouse method had nested basins with water wicking up to the soil surface and biocrust from below, with shade cloth attached to basins. We crossed these methods with the addition of native soil or sand and with and without a base of jute using salvaged biocrusts from the Sonoran Desert. </span></p> <p><span><span>3.<span> </span></span></span><span>All methods led to at least doubling biocrust cover in 11 weeks. The Greenhouse method led to the highest cover of cyanobacteria and mosses, whereas the field Quesadilla method and the addition of native soil in all cultivation methods led to higher abundance of lichens. There were interactions of cultivation method and soil type, with Greenhouse cultivation and native soil promoting the highest cyanobacteria cover and chlorophyll a. We measured exopolysaccharide sheaths (EPS) in native soil and all cultivation conditions, finding no differences for tightly bound sheath fractions, but higher quantities of the loosely bound EPS in the Greenhouse. We also quantified native and non-native plants in cultivation, finding few plants in Greenhouse cultivation, but high abundance in both Field methods, and particularly with native soil and without jute for native plants. </span></p> <p><span><span>4.<span> </span></span></span><em><span>Synthesis and applications</span></em><span>: Together, these results demonstrate that all three cultivation methods are successful for bulking biocrust materials for restoration, and preference should be given to the method that is the easiest and most accessible for practitioners. </span></p> <p><span> </span></p>
What could explain 13C signature of dryland biocrusts? Evaluating potential resource transfer between plants and biocrusts.
Dryland ecosystems are increasing in geographic extent and contribute greatly to interannual variability in global carbon dynamics. Disentangling interactions among dominant primary producers can help partition their contributions to dryland C dynamics. We measured the δ13C signatures of biological soil crusts and dominant plant species (C3 and C4) across a regional scale in the southwestern USA to determine if biocrust cyanobacteria were coupled to plant productivity (using plant-derived C mixotrophically), or independent of plant activity (and therefore purely autotrophic).
Data from: Applying community ecological theory to maximize productivity of cultivated biocrusts
Degraded rangelands around the world may benefit from the reestablishment of lost biological soil crusts (biocrusts, soil surface cryptogamic-microbial communities). Cultivation of biocrust organisms is the first step in this process, and may benefit from harnessing species interactions. Species interactions are a dominant force structuring ecological communities. One key element of community structure, species richness, is itself important because it can promote the productivity of the entire community. Here, we use biological soil crusts as a model to test the effects of species interactions on production of biocrust materials for use in ecosystem rehabilitation. We screened eight different moss and lichen species from semi-arid rangelands of Montana, USA, for growth potential under two watering regimes. Mosses generally grew well, but we were unable to cultivate the selected lichen species. We produced a >400% increase in the biomass of one species (Ceratodon purpureus). We tested whether a parasite-host relationship between two lichens could be used to enhance productivity of the parasite species, but this also resulted in no net gain of lichen productivity. Finally, we constructed all possible community combinations from a pool of five moss species to test for overyielding (community productivity exceeding that expected from the growth of community members in monoculture), and to determine both if, and the mode in which, species richness increases productivity. Polycultures yielded more than would be expected based upon the production of community constituents in monoculture. Using structural equation models we determined that there was a modest effect of species richness on community productivity (r = 0.24-0.25), which was independent of a stronger effect of the identity of species in the community (r = 0.41-0.50). These results will contribute to the optimization of biocrust cultivation, promoting the development of this emerging ecological rehabilitation technology.
Data for: Protective functions of Biocrusts on the Great Wall of China
<p><span>The Great Wall of China, one of the most emblematic and historical structures built by humankind throughout all of history, is suffering from rain and wind erosion and is largely colonized by biocrusts. Yet, how biocrusts influence the conservation and longevity of this structure is virtually unknown. Here, we conducted an extensive biocrust survey across the Great Wall and found that biocrusts cover 67% of the studied sections. Biocrusts enhance the mechanical stability and reduce the erodibility of the Great Wall. Compared with bare rammed earth, the biocrust-covered sections exhibited reduced porosity, water-holding capacity, erodibility, and salinity by 2%–48%, while increasing compressive strength, penetration resistance, shear strength, and aggregate stability by 37%–321%. We further found that the protective function of biocrusts mainly depended on biocrust features, climatic conditions, and structure types. Our work highlights the fundamental importance of biocrusts as a nature-based intervention to the conservation of the Great Wall, protecting this monumental heritage from erosion.</span></p>
Biogeographic distribution and divergent assembly process of cyanobacterial morphotypes in biocrusts across northwestern China
<p><span>The patterns of biogeographical distribution and assembly processes of microbiota are of vital importance for understanding ecological adaptation and functioning maintenance. However, the role of their morphological characteristics in microbial assembly is still poorly ascertained. Here, by integrating high-throughput sequencing and<span> </span>robust extrapolation of traits, we investigated taxonomic and phylogenetic turnovers of various cyanobacterial morphotypes in biocrusts to evaluate the contributions of deterministic and stochastic processes across a large scale of drylands. The results showed that the non-heterocyst filamentous category dominated biocrusts in the arid ecosystem and exhibited strong tolerance against environmental fluctuations. Despite thesignificant distance-decay relationship of <em>β</em>-diversity detected in all categories, both species composition and phylogenetic turnover rates of coccoid cyanobacteria were higher than non-heterocyst filamentous and heterocystous morphotypes. Moreover, the assembly of cyanobacteria was driven by different ecological processes that the entire community and non-heterocyst filamentous morphotype were governed by deterministic processes, while stochasticity prevailed in heterocystous and coccoid cyanobacteria. However, aridity can modulate the balance between determinism and stochasticity and prompt a shifting threshold among morphotypes, generating an alteration in community composition. <a name="_Hlk121763045"></a>Our findings provide a unique perspective to understanding the role of microbial morphology in community assembly, highlighting the differentiation of biogeographic distribution, environmental response, and species preference between cyanobacterial morphotypes with consideration of potential functional consequences.</span></p>
Cyanobacterial- and moss-forming biocrusts consistently mitigate the temperature sensitivity of microbial respiration along a continental precipitation gradient
<p>1. Biocrusts are prevalent and participate in many soil organic carbon (C) processes in drylands. The predicted increase in aridity will expand the biocrust cover and significantly impact soil organic C dynamics. However, how biocrusts change soil organic C decomposition and what factors drive the effect in response to climate warming remains largely unknown at a continental scale.</p> <p>2. We measured microbial respiration and its temperature sensitivity (Q10) in bare soil lacking biocrusts and two universal biocrusted soils (cyanobacterial- and moss-crusted soil) from 43 sites across a precipitation gradient from 39 mm to 443 mm to evaluate the relative effects of biocrusts on Q10 and the driving forces in northern China's dryland.</p> <p>3. Microbial respiration increased and Q10 decreased with increasing precipitation in bare soil, cyanobacterial- and moss-crusted soil. Biocrusts positively affected microbial respiration, with a more substantial magnitude by moss crusts than cyanobacterial crusts. Biocrusts negatively impacted Q10, and the magnitudes were similar between moss and cyanobacterial crusts. Most importantly, the relative effects of biocrusts on microbial respiration and Q10 increased with decreasing precipitation.</p> <p>4. The positive effects of biocrusts on soil organic C content and microbial biomass carbon were positively correlated with the level of increased microbial respiration. Contrastingly, the magnitude of reduced Q10 was attributed to the biocrusts' positive effects on soil organic C quality and adverse effects on the ratio of fungal to bacterial PLFAs (F: B).</p> <p>5. Our study provides strong evidence that biocrusts decrease the temperature sensitivity of microbial respiration in northern China's dryland. This result suggests that the predicted expanding biocrust cover is crucial for maintaining the soil organic C stability by buffering the positive impacts of climate warming on soil organic C decomposition in drylands.</p>
Biocrust environmental data across Chinese deserts
<p>One of the key goals of ecology is to understand how communities are assembled. The species co-existence theory suggests that community β-diversity is influenced by species pool and community assembly processes, such as environmental filtering, dispersal events, ecological drift, and biotic interactions. However, it remains unclear whether there are similar β-diversity patterns among different soil microbial groups and whether all these mechanisms play significant roles in mediating β-diversity patterns. By conducting a broad survey across Chinese deserts, we aimed to address these questions by investing biological soil crusts (biocrusts). Through amplicon-sequencing, we acquired β-diversity data for multiple microbial groups, that is, soil total bacteria, diazotrophs, <em>phoD</em>-harbouring taxa, and fungi. Our results have shown varying distance decay rates of β-diversity across microbial groups, with soil total bacteria showing a weaker distance-decay relationship than other groups. The impact of the species pool on community β-diversity varied across microbial groups, with soil total bacteria and diazotrophs being significantly influenced. While the contributions of specific assembly processes to community β-diversity patterns varied among different microbial groups, significant effects of local community assembly processes on β-diversity patterns were consistently observed across all groups. Homogenous selection and dispersal limitation emerged as crucial processes for all groups. Precipitation and soil C:P were the key factors mediating β-diversity for all groups. This study has substantially advanced our understanding of how the communities of multiple microbial groups are structured in desert biocrust systems.</p>
Warming decreases desert ecosystem functioning by altering biocrusts in drylands
<p><span>Warming and precipitation fluctuations are changing desert ecosystems in global drylands. However, the effects of climate change on keystone species such as cryptogamic biocrust in drylands remain relatively under-investigated, even though biocrusts play a vital role in desert ecosystems. </span><span>We conducted a long-term experiment (14 years) to simulate the responses of two main types of biocrusts to warming coupled with reduction in precipitation that was achieved by open-top chambers (OTCs) to simulate the predicted warming and precipitation decreasing under climate change scenario. We also conduct a structural analysis to evaluate the resulting changes in desert ecosystem functioning (carbon and nitrogen cycling).</span><span> </span><span>Neither warming and corresponding rainfall reduction treatments had a negative effect on lichen species richness, but both treatments reduced lichen cover and biomass. The negative effects of warming on moss-dominated crusts were much greater than those on lichen-dominated crusts. Although mosses and lichens had varying degrees of response to warming, the loss of mosses and decreased lichen cover and biomass, as well as the shortening of the wet time, resulted in a reduction in carbon and nitrogen fixation, soil enzyme activity and water-holding capacity of biocrusts and topsoil. These impacts collectively change the water balance of drylands and weaken the hydrological and biogeochemical function of biocrusts. </span></p> <p><span><em>Synthesis and applications</em>:</span><span> Results from this long-term experiment suggest that the ecosystem C and N cycling and water balance of global drylands may be highly impacted by climate change, in part because of the response of biocrusts, which contribute an important implication for both dryland restoration and earth system dynamics.</span></p>
Warming decreases desert ecosystem functioning by altering biocrusts in drylands
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Data from: Applying community ecological theory to maximize productivity of cultivated biocrusts
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Biogeographic distribution and divergent assembly process of cyanobacterial morphotypes in biocrusts across northwestern China
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Data from: Hyperspectral imaging predicts differences in carbon and nitrogen status among representative biocrust functional groups of the Colorado Plateau
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Cyanobacterial- and moss-forming biocrusts consistently mitigate the temperature sensitivity of microbial respiration along a continental precipitation gradient
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