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Biological soil crusts: their diversity, functional ecology and management

Dr Jayne Belnap, Dr Bettina Weber

  1. Nitrogen fixation by microorganisms within biological soil crust (“biocrust”) communities provides an important pathway for N inputs in cool desert environments where soil nutrients are low and symbiotic N-fix...

    Authors: Nichole N Barger, Sarah C Castle and Gavin N Dean
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2013 2:16
  2. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) can dominate surface cover in dry lands worldwide, playing an integral role in arid land biogeochemistry, particularly in N fertilization through fixation and cycling. Nitrificati...

    Authors: Yevgeniy Marusenko, Scott T Bates, Ian Anderson, Shannon L Johnson, Tanya Soule and Ferran Garcia-Pichel
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2013 2:9
  3. Within the Knersvlakte, cyanobacteria occur hypolithically underneath translucent quartz stones in areas with quartz pavement and, outside pavement areas, they are soil-inhabiting within the uppermost millimet...

    Authors: Bettina Weber, Dirk CJ Wessels, Kirstin Deutschewitz, Stephanie Dojani, Hans Reichenberger and Burkhard Büdel
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2013 2:8
  4. Lichen dominated biological soil crusts (BSCs) occur over large areas in the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern USA and northwest Mexico. In Baja California BSCs show a distinct patchiness and several types ca...

    Authors: Burkhard Büdel, Mercedes Vivas and Otto L Lange
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2013 2:6
  5. Communities change over time due to disturbances, variations in climate, and species invasions. Biological soil crust communities are important because they contribute to erosion control and nutrient cycling. ...

    Authors: Eva Dettweiler-Robinson, Jeanne M Ponzetti and Jonathan D Bakker
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2013 2:5
  6. Terrestrial ecosystems have been largely regarded as plant-dominated land surfaces, with the earliest records appearing in the early Phanerozoic (<550 Ma). Yet the presence of biological components in pre-Phan...

    Authors: Hugo Beraldi-Campesi
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2013 2:1