Erosion by wind is one of the principal processes associated with land degradation in
drylands and is a significant concern to land managers and policymakers globally. In the …

The use of cyanobacteria as soil conditioners has been studied intermittently for many
decades. Some of the documented direct effects of cyanobacterial inoculation are related to …

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts)—communities of mosses, lichens, cyanobacteria, and
heterotrophs living at the soil surface—are fundamental components of drylands worldwide …

The prototypical representatives of the Euryarchaeota—the methanogens—are oxygen
sensitive and are thought to occur only in highly reduced, anoxic environments. However …

Desert soil surfaces are generally covered with biological soil crusts, composed of a group
of organisms dominated by cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses. Despite their unassuming …

The waters of the Colorado River serve 27 million people in seven states and two countries
but are overallocated by more than 10% of the river's historical mean. Climate models …

Biological soil crusts can be the dominant source of N for arid land ecosystems. We
measured potential N fixation rates biweekly for 2 years, using three types of soil crusts:(1) …

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are ubiquitous lichen–bryophyte microbial communities, which
are critical structural and functional components of many ecosystems. However, BSCs are …

Background Extracellular polymeric matrix (EPM) is a complex component of the organo-
mineral assemblages created by biological soil crusts (BSCs). Mainly of polysaccharidic …

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 …