Biological Soil Crusts An Organizing Principle In Drylands
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Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands
This volume summarizes our current understanding of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which are omnipresent in dryland regions. Since they cover the soil surface, they influence, or even control, all surface exchange processes. Being one of the oldest terrestrial communities, biocrusts comprise a high diversity of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens and bryophytes together with uncounted bacteria, and fungi. The authors show that biocrusts are an integral part of dryland ecosystems, stabilizing soils, influencing plant germination and growth, and playing a key role in carbon, nitrogen and water cycling. Initial attempts have been made to use biocrusts as models in ecological theory. On the other hand, biocrusts are endangered by local disruptions and global change, highlighting the need for enhanced recovery methods. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the fascinating field of biocrust research, making it indispensable not only for scientists in this area, but also for land managers, policy makers, and anyone interested in the environment.
Biological Soil Crusts: Spatio-temporal Development and Ecological Functions of Soil Surface Microbial Communities across Different Scales
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are widely distributed throughout the world, and cover approximately 12% of the terrestrial surface. Biocrusts are composed of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens, mosses, and a great diversity of other microorganisms, which bind soil particles together to form a layer of biological-soil matrix on the soil surface typically of several millimetres thickness. They are important sites of regional and global microbial diversity and perform multiple ecological functions (multifunctionality). During the evolution of terrestrial life on earth, biocrusts are regarded as the main colonising photosynthetic organisms before the advent of vascular vegetation. They not only represent the early stages of terrestrial ecosystems, but also facilitate the ecosystem’s development and succession. Therefore, biocrusts are recognised as ecological engineers in the natural development of ecosystems and for the restoration of degraded terrestrial ecosystems. The development of biocrusts is highly heterogeneous, which is reflected on both temporal and spatial scales, and this heterogeneity is still clearly visible even in a small scale. However, up to now, only limited knowledge is acquired on biocrust temporal and spatial organisation. In particular there still is a large knowledge gap regarding the various biocrust communities under different developmental states and their related physiological metabolisms and ecological functions. Therefore, in-depth studies of these issues will undoubtedly further promote our understanding of the heterogeneous development of biocrusts, as well as their ecological multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems. The relevant contributions are expected to provide a scientific basis for the management of biocrusts and technology development (e.g. cyanobacteria-induced biocrust technology) for ecological restoration and the promotion of soil health.
Biology of Algae, Lichens and Bryophytes
As a reader of this book you will become familiar with current, up-to-date comprehensive knowledge about all classes of eukaryotic algae, the cyanobacteria, and symbiotic interactions of algae and cyanobacteria with other organisms. For example, the lichens are symbiotic consortia and a prominent example of a particularly successful ‘evolution by cooperation’. We expand even to the beginnings of terrestrial plant life and the bryophytes, which are gradually transmitting to the vascular plants. We collectively call this enormous phylogenetic wealth of photoautotrophic organisms the ‘new cryptogams’, abandoning the traditional definition of cryptogams. The new cryptogams are all those autotrophic organisms that share being hydro-passive, meaning that they are unable of controlling water uptake or release, in contrast to vascular plants. While being basal of and phylogenetically much more diverse than the vascular plants, the new cryptogams are ecologically highly relevant in all ecosystems of our Planet. They are responsible for more than half of the Earth’s annual oxygen production.