Effects of biocrust on soil erosion and organic carbon losses under natural rainfall

Chamizo, Sonia; Rodríguez‐Caballero, Emilio; Román, José Raúl; Cantón, Yolanda

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2016.06.017

Cited by 143 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 70 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…This increase was higher in soil under plants receiving run‐on from upslope biocrust areas than in soil under plants excluded from this water supply and receiving only rainfall (Figure ), suggesting that increased water availability provided by run‐on also exerts a positive effect on roots and microbial activity, as do increases in precipitation (Shen, Reynolds, & Hui, ). The positive effect of water supplied by run‐on on soil biological activity along with the expected nutrient redistribution from biocrusted open spaces through runoff generation (Barger et al, ; Cantón et al, ; Chamizo et al, ) could be the main reasons explaining the higher TOC and DOC observed in soil below open M. tenacissima plants at the end of the experiment (Table ). This enriched organic carbon pool may enhance microbial activity, contributing to increasing CO 2 released from soil (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Moreover, biocrust communities are able to take advantage of small rain pulses, unproductive for vascular plants, fixing large amounts of C and N, which are incorporated into the soil profile (Belnap et al, ). These soil nutrients may be partially redistributed to downslope vegetation through runoff during later heavier, more intense rainfall (Belnap et al, ; Barger et al, 2005; Cantón et al, ; Chamizo et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Runoff from biocrust: A vital resource for vegetation performance on Mediterranean steppes

et al. 2018

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Dryland vegetation is limited by water scarcity, and usually appears in the form of sparsely distributed patches within a heterogeneous unvegetated matrix often covered by biological soil crust. Biocrusts usually act as runoff sources, whereas vegetation acts as sinks, reinfiltrating most of the run‐on from upstream biocrusted areas. Alteration of biocrusts by human disturbances or climate change may exert a strong impact on soil erosion, promoting rill formation, increasing flow connectivity between source areas and reducing run‐on inputs to vegetation, strongly affecting ecosystem functioning. The role of biocrust runoff in vegetation productivity, which to date has not been studied in depth, must therefore be understood to predict the consequences of such changes. In this study, we analysed the response of Machrochloa tenacissima to run‐on exclusion for two years and compared it to the performance of plants of the same species receiving runoff from biocrusted source patches. The results showed that plants receiving run‐on had more photosynthetically active biomass, net C uptake rates and water‐use efficiency than plants under run‐on exclusion. Differences between treatments became wider over time, especially after rainfall, when the differences in water availability were greatest. These results lead to the conclusion that run‐on is a crucial water input for dryland vegetation. Any alteration of unvegetated areas usually covered by biocrust may have important effects on vegetation productivity similar to those from changes in precipitation pattern, and would result in a new, eco‐hydrological equilibrium of the whole ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Runoff from biocrust: A vital resource for vegetation performance on Mediterranean steppes

et al. 2018

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“…Young soils from upper hillslope positions (both N and S-slopes), with less infiltration and salt leaching, show larger amounts of gypsum and high EC (Table S1; Cantón et al, 2003). By occupying these positions, lichen-dominated biocrusts act as runoff sources, promoting the redistribution of water along the hillslope to the pediments (Rodríguez- Caballero et al, 2014bCaballero et al, , 2015 and acting as a water and nutrient surplus that increases vegetation growth and productivity (Chamizo et al, 2017;Rodríguez-Caballero et al, 2018b). As solar radiation directly influences water evaporation, when insolation decreased, cyanobacteria-dominated biocrust cover was replaced by lichens (Figure 4), which represented the dominant surface component on N-slopes and the main biocrust type on old N-slopes ( Figure 5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the main growth constraints for dryland plants are shallow and poorly developed soils, scarce precipitation and high potential evapotranspiration rates (Noy-Meir, 1973). Biocrusts reduce water and wind erosion (Belnap et al, 2014;Chamizo et al, 2017), while acting as a sustainable source of runoff water and nutrients to downstream vegetation (Barger et al, 2006;Li et al, 2008;Cantón et al, 2014;Rodríguez-Caballero et al, 2015, 2018bZhuang et al, 2015;Chamizo et al, 2017). Spatial distribution of the landscape components depends on local water-biomass feedback (Bonachela et al, 2015) and on how abiotic factors, such as geological, geomorphological and pedological properties, modify resource availability and microclimate (Greig-Smith, 1979;Yair and Shachak, 1982;Monger and Bestelmeyer, 2006;Peters and Havstad, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocrust landscape‐scale spatial distribution is strongly controlled by terrain attributes: Topographic thresholds for colonization in a semiarid badland system

Rodríguez‐Caballero

Román

Chamizo

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Biological soil crust, or biocrust communities, are the dominating life form in many extreme habitats, such as arid and semiarid badlands, where water scarcity and highly erodible substrates limit vegetation cover. While climate, soil and biotic factors have been described as environmental filters influencing biocrust distribution in such biomes, little is known about the effect of terrain attributes on creating specific microhabitats that promote or restrict biocrust colonization. This study aimed to identify the main terrain attributes controlling biocrust distribution in the driest badland system in Europe, the Tabernas Badlands (SE Spain). To do this, we analysed the influence of different terrain attributes related to landscape stability and microclimate formation on the spatial distribution of lichen and cyanobacteria, using field measurements and topographical information from a LiDAR survey. Our results showed that the spatial distribution of cyanobacteria‐dominated biocrusts, which are physiologically and morphologically adapted to extreme drought and high UVA radiation, was mostly associated with areas of high potential incoming solar radiation. The exception was bare south‐aspect hillslopes with very high sediment transport potential, where bare physically crusted soils were the dominant ground cover. Lichen‐dominated biocrusts, in contrast, colonized near the top of north‐aspect hillslopes, characterized by low potential incoming solar radiation and potential evapotranspiration, and their cover decreased downstream, as conditions became good enough for vascular plants. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…In the most extreme climate regions, biocrusts are only composed of the microscopic constituents, but as aridity decreases, macroscopic lichens, mosses and liverworts become more prevalent (Bowker et al ., ). They are involved in many important ecosystem processes, including carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling (Evans & Lange, ; Hu et al ., ; Barger et al ., ; Sancho et al ., ), surface energy balance (Rodríguez‐Caballero et al ., ; Couradeau et al ., ; Rutherford et al ., ), erosion (Zhao & Xu, ; Cantón et al ., ; Chamizo et al ., ) and water redistribution (Bowker et al ., ; Kidron & Büdel, ; Chamizo et al ., ), to name but a few. Biocrusts have also been found to modulate the magnitude of responses of C and N cycling to climate change in experimental studies (Maestre et al ., ; Delgado‐Baquerizo et al ., ; Hu et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warming reduces the cover, richness and evenness of lichen‐dominated biocrusts but promotes moss growth: insights from an 8 yr experiment

et al. 2018

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Despite the important role that biocrust communities play in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in drylands world-wide, few studies have evaluated how climate change will affect them. Using data from an 8-yr-old manipulative field experiment located in central Spain, we evaluated how warming, rainfall exclusion and their combination affected the dynamics of biocrust communities in areas that initially had low (< 20%, LIBC plots) and high (> 50%, HIBC plots) biocrust cover. Warming reduced the richness (35 ± 6%), diversity (25 ± 8%) and cover (82 ± 5%) of biocrusts in HIBC plots. The presence and abundance of mosses increased with warming through time in these plots, although their growth rate was much lower than the rate of lichen death, resulting in a net loss of biocrust cover. On average, warming caused a decrease in the abundance (64 ± 7%) and presence (38 ± 24%) of species in the HIBC plots. Over time, lichens and mosses colonized the LIBC plots, but this process was hampered by warming in the case of lichens. The observed reductions in the cover and diversity of lichen-dominated biocrusts with warming will lessen the capacity of drylands such as that studied here to sequester atmospheric CO and to provide other key ecosystem services associated to these communities.

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Effects of biocrust on soil erosion and organic carbon losses under natural rainfall

Cited by 143 publications

References 70 publications

Runoff from biocrust: A vital resource for vegetation performance on Mediterranean steppes

Runoff from biocrust: A vital resource for vegetation performance on Mediterranean steppes

Biocrust landscape‐scale spatial distribution is strongly controlled by terrain attributes: Topographic thresholds for colonization in a semiarid badland system

Warming reduces the cover, richness and evenness of lichen‐dominated biocrusts but promotes moss growth: insights from an 8 yr experiment

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