What is a biocrust? A refined, contemporary definition for a broadening research community

B Weber, J Belnap, B Büdel, AJ Antoninka… - Biological …, 2022 - Wiley Online Library
Studies of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have proliferated over the last few decades. The
biocrust literature has broadened, with more studies assessing and describing the function …

Biogeography of global drylands

FT Maestre, BM Benito, M Berdugo… - New …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Despite their extent and socio‐ecological importance, a comprehensive biogeographical
synthesis of drylands is lacking. Here we synthesize the biogeography of key organisms …

Dryland photoautotrophic soil surface communities endangered by global change

E Rodriguez-Caballero, J Belnap, B Büdel… - Nature …, 2018 - nature.com
Photoautotrophic surface communities forming biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial
for soil stability as well as water, nutrient and trace gas cycling at regional and global scales …

The pervasive and multifaceted influence of biocrusts on water in the world's drylands

DJ Eldridge, S Reed, SK Travers… - Global Change …, 2020 - Wiley Online Library
The capture and use of water are critically important in drylands, which collectively constitute
Earth's largest biome. Drylands will likely experience lower and more unreliable rainfall as …

Dryland mechanisms could widely control ecosystem functioning in a drier and warmer world

JM Grünzweig, HJ De Boeck, A Rey… - Nature ecology & …, 2022 - nature.com
Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change have been explored in many regions
worldwide. While continued drying and warming may alter process rates and deteriorate the …

Air pollution and climate change effects on allergies in the anthropocene: abundance, interaction, and modification of allergens and adjuvants

K Reinmuth-Selzle, CJ Kampf, K Lucas… - … science & technology, 2017 - ACS Publications
Air pollution and climate change are potential drivers for the increasing burden of allergic
diseases. The molecular mechanisms by which air pollutants and climate parameters may …

Network analysis reveals the strengthening of microbial interaction in biological soil crust development in the Mu Us Sandy Land, northwestern China

H Zhou, Y Gao, X Jia, M Wang, J Ding, L Cheng… - Soil Biology and …, 2020 - Elsevier
Although studies examining changes in the structure and diversity of microbial communities
in biological soil crusts (BSCs) have increased, microbial interactions in BSCs are not …

Xerotolerant bacteria: surviving through a dry spell

PH Lebre, P De Maayer, DA Cowan - Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2017 - nature.com
Water is vital for many biological processes and is essential for all living organisms.
However, numerous macroorganisms and microorganisms have adapted to survive in …

Photoautotrophic organisms control microbial abundance, diversity, and physiology in different types of biological soil crusts

S Maier, A Tamm, D Wu, J Caesar, M Grube… - The ISME …, 2018 - academic.oup.com
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) cover about 12% of the Earth's land masses, thereby
providing ecosystem services and affecting biogeochemical fluxes on a global scale. They …

Decline in biological soil crust N-fixing lichens linked to increasing summertime temperatures

R Finger-Higgens, MC Duniway… - Proceedings of the …, 2022 - National Acad Sciences
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts), comprised of mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria, are key
components to many dryland communities. Climate change and other anthropogenic …