How encroaching shrubs and nutrients affect N2-fixation in the Chihuahuan desert

Baldarelli, Lauren M.; Collins, Scott L.; Ward, David

doi:10.1007/s11104-021-05072-y

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Speci cally, when lichens are considered alone, they were associated with higher urease activity (likely a higher nitrogen transformation capacity due to associated microbes) and mosses were associated with higher phosphatase activity. A possible explanation for our lower EEA at high lichen and moss sites could be related to the presence of vascular plant communities (Ladwig et al 2015;Baldarelli et al 2021a, Baldarelli et al 2021b). If vegetation typically increases with elevation and vascular plant cover is associated with higher EEA (Ladwig et al 2015), perhaps competition between plants and biocrusts (as found elsewhere: Baldarelli et al 2021a) can explain our lower enzyme values at high lichen and moss dominated sites.…”

Section: Patterns Of Extracellular Enzyme Activitymentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Biocrusts are a group of ecologically important organisms that colonize the soil surface, and they are particularly prominent in drylands (Belnap 2003). Organisms composing biocrusts include lichens, mosses and a collection of microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and fungi (Belnap 2003;Baldarelli et al 2021a, Baldarelli et al 2021b. Biocrust presence can have major effects on ecosystem properties, including increasing soil stabilization and available nitrogen pools (e.g., Johansen 1993;Evans and Belnap 1999) and these ecosystem properties are dependent on biocrust community composition (Housman et al 2006;Bowker et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elevation and parent material drive biocrust distributions and soil extracellular enzyme activity along a dryland elevation gradient

Baldarelli,

Ward,

Throop

2024

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Background and Aims Climate and soil-related variables are two major environmental factors contributing to the spatial distribution of organisms. Elevational gradients can be used to better understand the climate impacts on natural systems given their tight relationship with temperature and precipitation. Soil variables can be used to explain elevational discrepancies at the small scale as they are important predictors of species-specific niches. Dryland ecosystems provide a unique opportunity to better understand the spatial distributions especially regarding biocrusts, a collection of ecologically important organisms that include lichens, mosses and cyanobacteria, that colonize the soil surface. Methods We sampled biocrusts and bulk soil from 31 sites along a 1,700 m elevation gradient between Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. We explored relationships among biocrust cover, elevation and parent materials including granite, limestone, basalt and sandstone. We also measured extracellular enzyme activity at each site as an index of potential microbial activity. Results Lichens were associated with lower elevations whereas higher moss cover corresponded with higher-elevation limestone sites. We found that elevation and soil parent material had significant effects on enzyme activity, although the direction of the associations differed among enzymes. There was also a significant positive correlation between biocrust cover, electrical conductivity and vascular plant cover. Conclusion Overall, this study represents a general framework for environmental variables affecting biocrust communities in drylands, showing that there is a need to include both elevation and soil parent material within analyses of biocrust cover and type (i.e., lichens and mosses).

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Section: Patterns Of Extracellular Enzyme Activitymentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevation and parent material drive biocrust distributions and soil extracellular enzyme activity along a dryland elevation gradient

Baldarelli,

Ward,

Throop

2024

Preprint

Self Cite

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Dryland Social-Ecological Systems in Americas

Zhang,

Huang,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Dryland Social-Ecological Systems in Changing Environments

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American drylands account for circa 20% of the global drylands and form a critical part of the global ecosystems. This study comprehensively assessed the ecology and socio-economic status of American drylands by analyzing original and published data. The research findings reveal that North and South American drylands have more differences than commonness. In terms of commonness, both North and South American drylands have higher productivity and soil fertility than other drylands of the globe. Under this high ecosystem productivity context, North American drylands are the high agricultural productivity regions and South America is the largest beef exporter in the world. There are several aspects of differences between North and South American drylands. North American drylands possess an ecosystem productivity twice that of South American drylands. Precipitation has significantly decreased in North America drylands, while South American drylands have become wetting over the past three decades. Population in both North and South American drylands have increased. Vegetation coverage trends exhibit a weak rising trend in South America, while North America drylands have become significantly greener, mainly due to croplands irrigation. The driving forces on land use change and ecosystem productivity in North American drylands comprise a variety of factors, while those on South American drylands are relatively simpler, mostly caused by one driving agent. In dealing with the dual pressures of climate change and socio-economic developments, countries in both North and South America have implemented a series of drylands ecosystem protection measures, such as setting national park and conservation agriculture. These efficient and successful experiences can be examples for other dryland ecosystem protection around the world.

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How encroaching shrubs and nutrients affect N2-fixation in the Chihuahuan desert

Cited by 2 publications

References 40 publications

Elevation and parent material drive biocrust distributions and soil extracellular enzyme activity along a dryland elevation gradient

Elevation and parent material drive biocrust distributions and soil extracellular enzyme activity along a dryland elevation gradient

Dryland Social-Ecological Systems in Americas

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