Cyanobacterial diversity in soil crusts has been extensively studied in arid lands of temperate regions, particularly semi-arid steppes and warm deserts. Nevertheless, Arctic soil crusts have received far less attention than their temperate counterparts. Here, we describe the cyanobacterial communities from various types of soil crusts from Svalbard, High Arctic. Four soil crusts at different d...

Corn (Zea mays L.) stover is a primary biofuel feedstock and its expanded use could help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and net CO2 emissions. Excessive stover removal may, however, negatively impact near-surface soil properties within a short period after removal. We assessed changes in soil crust strength, bulk density (rb), and water content over a 1-yr period following a systematic removal...

More than one third of the world’s irrigated areas suffer occasional or more frequent waterlogging (Donmann and Houston, 1967). Waterlogging has been shown to limit wheat yields in many regions of the world; an area estimated at 10 million ha is waterlogged each year in developing countries (Sayre et al., 1994). Waterlogging occurs when rainfall or irrigation water collects on the soil surface ...

abstract soil crust decreases soil infiltration and prevents plant stablishment. thus reduction of crust effects is a prominent way to avert desertification. this study was conducted to investigate the effect of polyacrylamide on emergence of canola seedlings in a crusted soil and some physicochemical properties of soil such as ph, ec, sar and bulk density in a field located in date and tropica...

Aluminum (Al) is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust, but its availability depends on soil pH. Despite this abundance, Al is not considered an essential element and so far no experimental evidence has been put forward for a biological role. In plants and other organisms, Al can have a beneficial or toxic effect, depending on factors such as, metal concentration, the chemical form of Al...

Dryland ecosystems have long been considered to have a highly heterogene us distribution of nutrients and soil biota, with greater concentrations of both in soils under plants relative to interspace soils. We examined the distribution of soil resources in two plant communities (dominated by either the shrub Coleogyne ramosissima or the grass Stipa hymenoides) at two locations. Interspace soils ...

The light absorbed by water in soil and plants is readily determined using hyperspectral full-range imagery and field spectrometers. The full absorption of light can be accounted for by fitting the shape of water absorptions at the same time as other diagnostic bands using multiple Gaussian functions. This research is particularly important in soils due to the loss of mineral band depth with th...

Cyanobacteria associated with biological soil crusts (BSCs) have important attributes, such as nitrogen fixation and soil stabilisation. However, research on these organisms has been minimal, and their diversity and distribution throughout temperate Europe is currently unknown. The SCIN (Soil Crust International) project is a multidisciplinary research initiative that aims to achieve improved u...