The adaptation of plants to particular soil types has long intrigued biologists. Gypsum soils
occupy large areas in many regions of the world and host a striking biological diversity, but …

Despite that soils may be the greatest repository of biodiversity on Earth, and that most
terrestrial ecosystem functions occur in the soil, research on the role of soil biodiversity in …

Biological soil crusts (BSCs), composed of lichens, cyanobacteria, mosses, liverworts and
microorganisms, are key biotic components of arid and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide …

Biocrusts and vascular plants interact on many levels. The nature and consequences of
these interactions vary with biocrust and plant characteristics and environmental conditions …

We provide an overview of chemical transformations that proceed spontaneously, by mixing
of initially solid reactants, and are accelerated and/or directed through gentle stimuli in the …

Lichens are fungal and algal/cyanobacterial symbioses resulting in the production of specific
metabolites. Some of these are forming an available biomass for phytochemical …

This chapter summarizes the diversity of interactions in lichen symbiosis at the taxonomic,
organismic and cellular levels. Peculiarities of lichen-dominated terrestrial ecosystems, their …

At the heart of the body of research on biodiversity effects on ecosystem function is the
debate over whether different species tend to be functionally singular or redundant. When …

Excess nitrogen is a pollutant and global problem that harms ecosystems and can severely
affect human health. Pollutant nitrogen is becoming more widespread and intensifying in the …

The stress‐gradient hypothesis (SGH) predicts that the frequency of facilitative and
competitive interactions will vary inversely across abiotic stress gradients, with facilitation …