biological soil crusts (bscs) result from an intimate association between soil particles and cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, lichens and mosses in different proportions which live on the surface, or immediately in the uppermost millimeters of soil. therefore bscs cover the ground surface as a coherent layer, and influence primary processes such as carbon and nitrogen fixation and hydrologic status...

soil surfaces in arid and semi-arid lands often lack photoautotrophic life but are covered by communities of soil surface covering organisms able to tolerate dehydration, and thus adapted to aridity. one important objective of multi-spectral remote sensing instruments is the detection of the optical characteristics of the earth’s surface using high spectral resolution bands. in this study aster...

Dew is an important source of water in drylands, particularly for biological soil crusts (BSCs), which are soil communities dominated by lichens, mosses and cyanobacteria that are prevalent in these environments and play important roles in nutrient cycling. While BSCs can retain and use water from dew, the effects of dew events on the cycling of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) in BSC-dominated ecos...

N2 fixation and ammonia oxidation (AO) are the two most important processes in the nitrogen (N) cycle of biological soil crusts (BSCs). We studied the short-term response of acetylene reduction assay (ARA) rates, an indicator of potential N2 fixation, and AO rates to temperature (T, -5°C to 35°C) in BSC of different successional stages along the BSC ecological succession and geographic origin (...

In arid and semi-arid regions, pioneer organisms form complex communities that penetrate the upper millimetres of the bare substrate, creating biological soil crusts (BSC). These thin crusts play a vital role in whole ecosystem functioning because they enrich bare surfaces with organic matter, initiate biogeochemical cycling of elements, modify hydrological cycles, etc., thus enabling the groun...

soil particle-size distribution (psd) is one of the most important physical attributes due to its great influence on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. water infiltration rate, land-use change, soil erosion, and biological soil crusts (bscs) may influence psd in a soil. the multifractal measures were useful tools in characterization of psd in soils. the objective of the current...

Morphological and physiological characteristics of biological soil crusts (BSCs) enhance soil stability and fertility, and influence soil chemistry. However, the effect of BSCs on soil physico-chemical properties may vary depending on taxa (cyanobacteria, lichen, bryophytes) and species, and be susceptible to soil surface disturbance. We examined a wide variety of soil physico-chemical properti...

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) can improve the stability and health of native plant communities in arid ecosystems. However, it is unknown whether BSCs can also inhibit invasions of exotic vascular plants on stabilized reclaimed sand dunes. To answer this question, we conducted a greenhouse experiment to test the effects of cyanobacteria-dominated BSCs on 1) seed germination and biomass of an ex...

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...