Disturbance of biological soil crusts: impacts on potential wind erodibility of sandy desert soils in southeastern Utah

Macromolecular and chemical features of the excreted extracellular polysaccharides in induced biological soil crusts of different ages

“…BSCs reportedly play an important role in major ecological processes in badlands systems, particularly those involving early stage soil succession on degraded soils (Belnap and Gillette, 1997;Harper and Belnap, 2001;Langhans et al, 2009). Within these biotic assemblages, cyanobacterial filaments, fungal hyphae and excreted extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs) enfold soil particles, creating an organo-mineral layer in the first soil millimeters Li et al, 2005).…”

Aeolian dust in Colorado Plateau soils: Nutrient inputs and recent change in source

“…When undisturbed, the uppermost soil layer is covered by biological soil crust (BSC). These crusts are a dominant source of nitrogen (21), increase water infiltration (22), and reduce soil erosion (23) in this region. Organisms in the BSC excrete a sticky polysaccharide material that traps sediment and glues soil particles together, forming a cohesive surface crust.…”

Man-made desert algal crusts as affected by environmental factors in Inner Mongolia, China

“…The importance of microbiotic crusts for sand surface stabilization and in particular for dune stabilization has long been acknowledged (Belnap and Gillette, 1997;Bowker et al, 2002). Microbiotic crusts could strengthen soil stabilization and improve the hydrological properties of crust-covered dunes (Mazor et al, 1996) winds and reduce water erosion in the field (Hu et al, 2002a).…”