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Mira AF, Hortal J, Portela AP, Albertos B, Estébanez B, Branquinho C, Vieira C, Hespanhol H, Draper I, Marques J, Monteiro J, Leo M, Hurtado P, Ochoa-Hueso R, Varela Z, Medina NG. eBryoSoil: a citizen science application to monitor changes in soil ecosystems. Sci Rep 2024; 14:24577. [PMID: 39426979 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-74464-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 09/26/2024] [Indexed: 10/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Biological soil covers (BSCs) play a pivotal role in ecosystem functioning by enhancing soil stability, mediating nutrient cycling, and influencing soil hydrology. Recognized as ecosystem engineers, they can physically modify, maintain, or create habitats, facilitating plant community development. Through these intricate interactions, BSCs contribute significantly to ecological processes, highlighting their importance in the overall health and functionality of the ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula. Here we present the results obtained from the contributions of the citizen scientists uploaded from November 2019 to January 2021 with eBryoSoil, an app that allows citizens to participate in mapping the BSC communities across the Iberian Peninsula. Here, we emphasize the importance of habitats and consequently, their interaction with climatic variables for the persistence of BSCs (lichens and bryophytes). Conservation efforts targeted at preserving diverse habitats are essential to ensure the continued presence of lichen and bryophyte communities. Despite challenges posed by the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, this citizen science project demonstrated success in utilizing a specifically tailored app to gather valuable information on BSC communities, providing insights into their vulnerability to climate change. This program serves as an illustrative example of how citizen science can effectively identify and study vulnerable habitats, offering a blueprint for future studies focused on understudied organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- André F Mira
- Department Biogeography and Global Change, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), Madrid, 28006, Spain.
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.
- Programa de Doctorado en Conservación de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, 28933, Spain.
| | - Joaquín Hortal
- Department Biogeography and Global Change, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), Madrid, 28006, Spain
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & Global Change and Sustainability Institute (CHANGE), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
| | - Ana Paula Portela
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, 4169- 007, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Belén Albertos
- Department de Botànica i Geologia, Universitat de València, Burjassot, 46100, Spain
| | - Belén Estébanez
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Cristina Branquinho
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & Global Change and Sustainability Institute (CHANGE), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
| | - Cristiana Vieira
- Museu de História Natural e da Ciência da Universidade do Porto (MHNC-UP/UPorto/PRISC), Porto, 4099-002, Portugal
| | - Helena Hespanhol
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Isabel Draper
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Joana Marques
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Juliana Monteiro
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & Global Change and Sustainability Institute (CHANGE), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1749-016, Portugal
| | - María Leo
- Department Soil, Plant and Environmental Quality, Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA-CSIC), Madrid, 28006, Spain
| | - Pilar Hurtado
- Biodiversity and Conservation Area, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, 28933, Spain
- DIFAR, University of Genoa, Genoa, 16148, Italy
| | - Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
- Department of Biology, IVAGRO, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus of International Agri-Food Excellence (ceiA3), Cádiz, 11510, Spain
| | - Zulema Varela
- Ecology Unit, Department of Functional Biology, CRETUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, 15872, Spain
| | - Nagore G Medina
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
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Jung P, Brand R, Briegel-Williams L, Werner L, Jost E, Lentendu G, Singer D, Athavale R, Nürnberg DJ, Alfaro FD, Büdel B, Lakatos M. The symbiotic alga Trebouxia fuels a coherent soil ecosystem on the landscape scale in the Atacama Desert. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME 2024; 19:59. [PMID: 39123247 PMCID: PMC11311966 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-024-00601-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Biocrusts represent associations of lichens, green algae, cyanobacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, colonizing soils in varying proportions of principally arid biomes. The so-called grit crust represents a recently discovered type of biocrust situated in the Coastal Range of the Atacama Desert (Chile) made of microorganisms growing on and in granitoid pebbles, resulting in a checkerboard pattern visible to the naked eye on the landscape scale. This specific microbiome fulfills a broad range of ecosystem services, all probably driven by fog and dew-induced photosynthetic activity of mainly micro-lichens. To understand its biodiversity and impact, we applied a polyphasic approach on the phototrophic microbiome of this biocrust, combining isolation and characterization of the lichen photobionts, multi-gene phylogeny of the photobionts and mycobionts based on a direct sequencing and microphotography approach, metabarcoding and determination of chlorophylla+b contents. Metabarcoding showed that yet undescribed lichens within the Caliciaceae dominated the biocrust together with Trebouxia as the most abundant eukaryote in all plots. Together with high mean chlorophylla+b contents exceeding 410 mg m-2, this distinguished the symbiotic algae Trebouxia as the main driver of the grit crust ecosystem. The trebouxioid photobionts could be assigned to the I (T. impressa/gelatinosa) and A (T. arboricola) clades and represented several lineages containing five potential species candidates, which were identified based on the unique phylogenetic position, morphological features, and developmental cycles of the corresponding isolates. These results designate the grit crust as the only known coherent soil layer with significant landscape covering impact of at least 440 km2, predominantly ruled by a single symbiotic algal genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Jung
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany.
| | - Rebekah Brand
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Laura Briegel-Williams
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Lina Werner
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Emily Jost
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Guillaume Lentendu
- Laboratory of Soil Biodiversity, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - David Singer
- Soil Science and Environment Group, Changins, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Nyon, Switzerland
| | - Rujuta Athavale
- Institute for Experimental Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dennis J Nürnberg
- Institute for Experimental Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Fernando D Alfaro
- GEMA Center for Genomics, Ecology and Environment, Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Biology, Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern Landau, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Michael Lakatos
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
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Qiu D, Bowker MA, Xiao B, Zhao Y, Zhou X, Li X. Mapping biocrust distribution in China's drylands under changing climate. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 905:167211. [PMID: 37730025 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are widely distributed in global drylands and have multiple significant roles in regulating dryland soil and ecosystem multifunctionality. However, maps of their distribution over large spatial scales are uncommon and sometimes unreliable, because our current remote sensing technology is unable to efficiently discriminate between biocrusts and vascular plants or even bare soil across different ecosystem and soil types. The lack of biocrust spatial data may limit our ability to detect risks to dryland function or key tipping points. Here, we indirectly mapped biocrust distribution in China's drylands using spatial prediction modeling, based on a set of occurrences of biocrusts (379 in total) and high-resolution soil and environmental data. The results showed that biocrusts currently cover 13.9 % of China's drylands (or 5.7 % of China's total area), with moss-, lichen-, and cyanobacterial-dominated biocrusts each occupying 5.7 % to 10.7 % of the region. Biocrust distribution is mainly determined by soil properties (soil type and contents of gravel and nitrogen), aridity stress, and altitude. Their most favorable habitat is arenosols with low contents of gravel and nitrogen, in climate with a drought index of 0.54 and an altitude of about 500 m. By 2050, climate change will lead to a 5.5 %-9.0 % reduction in biocrust cover. Lichen biocrusts exhibit a high vulnerability to climate change, with potential reductions of up to 19.0 % in coverage. Biocrust cover loss is primarily caused by the combined effects of the elevated temperature and increased precipitation. Our study provides the first high-resolution (250 × 250 m) map of biocrust distribution in China's drylands and offers a reliable approach for mapping regional or global biocrust colonization. We suggest incorporating biocrusts into Earth system models to identify their significant impact on global or regional-scale processes under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dexun Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (North China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China; Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwestern China/Key Laboratory of Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystems in Northwestern China of Ministry of Education, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA; Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Bo Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (North China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China; Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwestern China/Key Laboratory of Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystems in Northwestern China of Ministry of Education, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China.
| | - Yunge Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Xiaobing Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
| | - Xinrong Li
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
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Abd-ElGawad AM, Assaeed AM, Al-Rowaily SL, Alshahri MS, Bonanomi G, Elshamy AI. Influence of Season and Habitat on the Essential Oils Composition, Allelopathy, and Antioxidant Activities of Artemisia monosperma Delile. SEPARATIONS 2023; 10:263. [DOI: 10.3390/separations10040263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants belonging to the Artemisia genus (Asteraceae) are widely distributed worldwide and have many ethnopharmacological, traditional, therapeutic, and phytochemical aspects. Artemisia monosperma is an important aromatic plant due to its traditional and therapeutic uses and phytochemical diversity, including essential oils (EOs). The EO chemical profile of aromatic plants has been reported to be affected by exogenous and endogenous factors. Geographic and seasonal variations are crucial factors shaping the chemical composition of the EO. Herein, the variations of the yields, chemical profiles, and allelopathic and antioxidant activities of A. monosperma EOs collected from three regions in four seasons were assessed. A slight variation in the oil yields was observed among regions and seasons, while the chemical profile, characterized via GC-MS, exhibited significant quantitative and qualitative variation among either regions or seasons. Sesquiterpenes were the main components of all EOs, with significant variation in concentration. In most EO samples, the summer-plant samples had the highest concentration of sesquiterpenes, followed by spring, winter, and autumn. The 7-epi-trans-sesquisabinene hydrate, 6-epi-shyobunol, dehydro-cyclolongifolene oxide, isoshyobunone, diepicedrene-1-oxide, dehydro-aromadendrene, and junipene were the main compounds of all the EO samples. The extracted EOs of the A. monosperma samples showed considerable allelopathic activity against the weed Dactyloctenium aegyptium and the crop Lactuca sativa. A significant variation in allelopathic activity was observed among samples collected during different seasons, while the samples of the autumn and summer seasons had more potential. Also, L. sativa was more affected by the EO compared to D. aegyptium, reflecting that weeds are more resistant to allelochemicals. In this context, the EOs of A. monosperma samples exhibited substantial antioxidant activity with the same pattern of allelopathic activity, whereas the samples of the autumn and summer seasons showed higher antioxidant activity. These biological activities of the EOs could be ascribed to the higher content of oxygenated compounds. The present study revealed that seasons have a substantial effect on EO production as well as composition. In consequence, the biological activities varied with the variation of the chemical profile of the EO. These results show the importance of season/timing for sampling aromatic plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad
- Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulaziz M. Assaeed
- Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saud L. Al-Rowaily
- Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed S. Alshahri
- Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Giuliano Bonanomi
- Department of Agriculture, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
| | - Abdelsamed I. Elshamy
- Department of Natural Compounds Chemistry, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt
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Niedzwiedzki DM, Magdaong NCM, Su X, Adir N, Keren N, Liu H. Mass spectrometry and spectroscopic characterization of a tetrameric photosystem I supercomplex from Leptolyngbya ohadii, a desiccation-tolerant cyanobacterium. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOENERGETICS 2023; 1864:148955. [PMID: 36708912 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2023.148955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria inhabiting desert biological soil crusts face the harsh conditions of the desert. They evolved a suite of strategies toward desiccation-hydration cycles mixed with high light irradiations, etc. In this study we purified and characterized the structure and function of Photosystem I (PSI) from Leptolyngbya ohadii, a desiccation-tolerant desert cyanobacterium. We discovered that PSI forms tetrameric (PSI-Tet) aggregate. We investigated it by using sucrose density gradient centrifugation, clear native PAGE, high performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry (MS), time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) and time-resolved transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy. MS analysis identified the presence of two PsaB and two PsaL proteins in PSI-Tet and uniquely revealed that PsaLs are N-terminally acetylated in contrast to non-modified PsaL in the trimeric PSI from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence decay profiles of the PSI-Tet performed at 77 K revealed two emission bands at ∼690 nm and 725 nm with the former appearing only at early delay time. The main fluorescence emission peak, associated with emission from the low energy Chls a, decays within a few nanoseconds. TA studies demonstrated that the 725 nm emission band is associated with low energy Chls a with absorption band clearly resolved at ∼710 nm at 77 K. In summary, our work suggests that the heterogenous composition of PsaBs and PsaL in PSI-Tet is related with the adaptation mechanisms needed to cope with stressful conditions under which this bacterium naturally grows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dariusz M Niedzwiedzki
- Center for Solar Energy and Energy Storage, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Energy Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | | | - Xinyang Su
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Noam Adir
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Hafai, Israel
| | - Nir Keren
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Haijun Liu
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
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Ruiz L, Carrión-Paladines V, Vega M, López F, Benítez Á. Biological Crust Diversity Related to Elevation and Soil Properties at Local Scale in a Montane Scrub of Ecuador. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9030386. [PMID: 36983554 PMCID: PMC10058557 DOI: 10.3390/jof9030386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The montane shrublands of southern Ecuador represent one of the least studied ecosystems, which in the last decade have been seriously threatened by increasing wildfires, deforestation, overgrazing, and conversion to forest plantations. Our main objective was to determine, at the local scale, the diversity of species composing the biological soil crust (BSC) at three elevations (2100, 2300, and 2500 m.a.s.l.) and their possible relationships with soil physical and chemical properties in montane shrublands. For this purpose, three monitoring plots of 100 m2 were established at each elevation, and within each plot, 20 subplots were established (180 subplots sampled in total). In addition, composite soil samples were collected at a depth of 0 to 10 cm, and some physical and biochemical parameters (e.g., bulk density, texture, pH, organic matter, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium) of the soil were analyzed. The results show 35 species (23 lichens, 10 bryophytes and 2 cyanobacteria) at three elevations with a bell-shaped or hump-shaped distribution pattern. This allowed us to point out that the species richness was higher at the intermediate elevations and that the composition showed significant differences in the three elevations related to soil factors. Elevation and soil drivers may help to better chose the more suitable biological soil crust (lichen-dominated and bryophyte-dominated BSC) for the management and conservation of the montane scrub of Ecuador, which is strongly threatened by human activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslye Ruiz
- Carrera de Biología, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador
| | - Vinicio Carrión-Paladines
- Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Tropicales-BIETROP, Herbario HUTPL, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador
| | - Marlon Vega
- Carrera de Biología, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador
| | - Fausto López
- Carrera de Biología, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador
| | - Ángel Benítez
- Carrera de Biología, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador
- Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Tropicales-BIETROP, Herbario HUTPL, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, Loja 1101608, Ecuador
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Chen Q, Yan N, Xiong K, Zhao J. Cyanobacterial diversity of biological soil crusts and soil properties in karst desertification area. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1113707. [PMID: 36992925 PMCID: PMC10040852 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1113707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
As important components of the biological soil crusts (BSCs) and of the primary stage of crust succession, cyanobacterial communities occupy an important ecological niche and play an important ecological role in desertification areas. In this study, we focused on the karst desertification area, which also belongs to the same category of desertification, and selected three study areas, Guanling-Zhenfeng Huajiang (HJ), Bijie Salaxi (SLX), and Shibing (SB), in the Guizhou Plateau, which represents the overall ecological environment of South China karst, to conduct surveys on the diversity of BSC species and soil properties. Analysis of the cyanobacterial communities and physicochemical properties using the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, principal component analysis, and redundancy analysis revealed that: (1) The three study areas had common cyanobacterial species, with a total of 200 species distributed across 22 genera, 2 classes, 5 orders, and 6 families belonging to the Oscillatoriales (39%), Scytonematales (24.5%), Chroococcales (23%), Nostocales (11.5%), and Rivulariales (2%), (2) The number of species increased with the intensity of karst desertification—while Oscillatoriaceae was the dominant family in HJ and moderate–severe desertification areas, Chroococcaceae and Scytonemataceae were dominant in the mild and potential desertification areas SLX and SB, (3) The Shannon-Wiener diversity indices followed the trend: SLX (3.56) > SB (3.08) > HJ (3.01), indicating that the species were more evenly distributed in mild desertification, (4) In the carbonate background, shrubland harbored the largest number of cyanobacterial species compared to grassland, bare land, and arbor woodland; however, the highest number was documented in arbor woodland in dolomite karst, (5) The soil is weathered limestone or yellow soil in all three areas, with pH ranging from 5.73 to 6.85, fine sand dominated, and soil nutrients increased with the intensity of desertification, and (6) Redundancy analysis showed that organic carbon, soil moisture content (0–5 cm), and total nitrogen substantially influenced cyanobacterial diversity. These results reveal that differences in soil nutrient content play an important role in regulating the cyanobacterial diversity and composition, thereby establishing a foundation for further research and application of soil ecological restoration of cyanobacteria in BSCs of karst desertification areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Chen
- School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
- State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification Control, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Ni Yan
- School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
- State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification Control, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
- School of Life Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Kangning Xiong
- School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
- State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification Control, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
- *Correspondence: Kangning Xiong,
| | - Jiawei Zhao
- School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
- State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification Control, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
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Barrón-Sandoval A, Martiny JBH, Pérez-Carbajal T, Bullock SH, Leija A, Hernández G, Escalante AE. Functional significance of microbial diversity in arid soils: biological soil crusts and nitrogen fixation as a model system. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2023; 99:6998555. [PMID: 36690342 PMCID: PMC9923382 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiad009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities respond to changes in environmental conditions; however, how compositional shifts affect ecosystem processes is still not well-understood and it is often assumed that different microbial communities will function equally under similar environmental conditions. We evaluated this assumption of functional redundancy using biological soil crusts (BSCs) from two arid ecosystems in Mexico with contrasting climate conditions (hot and cold deserts) following an experimental approach both in the field (reciprocal transplants) and in laboratory conditions (common garden), focusing on the community's composition and potential for nitrogen fixation. Potential of nitrogen fixation was assessed through the acetylene reduction assay. Community composition and diversity was determined with T-RFLPs of nifH gene, high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and metagenomic libraries. BSCs tended to show higher potential nitrogen fixation rates when experiencing temperatures more similar to their native environment. Moreover, changes in potential nitrogen fixation, taxonomic and functional community composition, and diversity often depended on an interactive effect of origin of the communities and the environment they experienced. We interpret our results as legacy effects that result from ecological specialization of the BSC communities to their native environment. Overall, we present evidence of nonfunctional redundancy of BSCs in terms of nitrogen fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Barrón-Sandoval
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad (LANCIS), Instituto de Ecología, UNAM. Circuito Exterior s/n, junto al Jardín Botánico, Coyacán, Mexico City, 014510, Mexico,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92627, United States
| | - Jennifer B H Martiny
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92627, United States
| | - Teresa Pérez-Carbajal
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad (LANCIS), Instituto de Ecología, UNAM. Circuito Exterior s/n, junto al Jardín Botánico, Coyacán, Mexico City, 014510, Mexico
| | - Stephen H Bullock
- Department of Conservation Biology, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Ctra. Ensenada-Tijuana No. 3918, Ensenada, 22860 Baja CA, Mexico
| | - Alfonso Leija
- Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av, Universidad 1001, 62210 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Georgina Hernández
- Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av, Universidad 1001, 62210 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Ana E Escalante
- Corresponding author: Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad (LANCIS), Instituto de Ecología, UNAM. Circuito Exterior s/n, junto al Jardín Botánico, Coyacán, Mexico City, 04510. Mexico. Tel: +52(55)5623-7714; E-mail:
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Long J, Tan D, Zhou Y, Zhou D, Luo Y, Bin D, Wang Z, Wang J, Lei M. The leaching of antimony and arsenic by simulated acid rain in three soil types from the world's largest antimony mine area. ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2022; 44:4253-4268. [PMID: 34982347 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-021-01188-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A simulated acid rain (SAR) experiment on leaching of antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) in three soil types including paddy soils (PS), vegetable soils (VS) and slag based soils (SS) from Xikuangshan (XKS) Sb mine area was conducted. The SAR at pH 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.6 were sprayed to soil columns with intermittent pattern in a period of 50 days. Through the spraying duration, leaching Sb in PS, VS and SS showed decreasing trends regardless of pH values in SAR and were in the ranges of 0.026-0.064 mg L-1, 0.19-2.18 mg L-1 and 11.8-32.4 mg L-1, respectively. By contrast, leaching As in these three soil types continuously increased at the initial five spraying times and then deeply decreased afterward, with ranges being 0-0.007 mg L-1, 0.001-0.071 mg L-1 and 0.17-1.07 mg L-1, respectively. The leaching Sb in all the three soil types were extremely higher than the reference value in grade IV (0.01 mg L-1) for groundwater quality of China (GB/T 14,848-2017). For leaching As, peck values in VS and all the values in SS were also greater than the corresponding reference value (0.05 mg L-1). This indicated that leaching Sb and As could pollute the groundwater in XKS Sb mine area, especially those in slag based soils. The total leaching losses of Sb and As were affected by pH ambiguously, such as SAR at pH 2.5, 5.6 and 2.5 induced the greatest losses of Sb in PS, VS and SS, and pH 3.5, 5.6 and 2.5 resulted in the greatest leaching losses of As in these soils. After SAR treatment, the specific sorbed and Fe/Mn oxide-associated Sb and As significantly decreased. It demonstrated that these two fractions of both Sb and As were involved in leaching losses. The present study also found that the SAR treatment resulted in soil acidification in all the three soil types. In addition, available N, P and K in all the SAR treatments decreased regardless of pH values, except for available N and P in PS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiumei Long
- College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
| | - Di Tan
- Changde Ecological Environment Bureau, Changde, 415000, People's Republic of China
| | - Yimin Zhou
- College of Resource and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Engineering Research Center for Safe and High-Efficient Utilization of Heavy Metal Pollution Farmland, Changsha, 410128, People's Republic of China
| | - Dongsheng Zhou
- College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuanlai Luo
- College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
| | - Dongmei Bin
- College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhixin Wang
- College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Wang
- College of Life Sciences and Environment, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Biological Resources in the Nanyue Mountainous Region, Hengyang, 421008, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Lei
- College of Resource and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, People's Republic of China.
- Hunan Engineering Research Center for Safe and High-Efficient Utilization of Heavy Metal Pollution Farmland, Changsha, 410128, People's Republic of China.
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Zhang S, Zhang Q, Liu Z, Mamtimin S, Zhou X, Yin B, Zhang Y. Long-term snow alters the sensitivity of nonstructural carbohydrates of Syntrichia caninervis to snow cover: Based on a 7-year experiment. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:999584. [PMID: 36311058 PMCID: PMC9614234 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.999584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The dynamics of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) profoundly affect productivity and ecological adaptability to adversity in plants. Global warming induced the frequent occurrence of extreme precipitation events that altered the winter snow pattern in deserts. However, there is a lack of understanding of how desert mosses respond to long-term snow cover change at the NSC level. Therefore, in this study, long-term (7-years) winter snow removal (-S), ambient snow (CK), and double snow (+S) experiments were set in the field to investigate the content of NSC and its component in Syntrichia Caninervis. Our results showed that changes in snow depth, snow years, and their interaction significantly affected NSC and its component of Syntrichia caninervis. Compared to snow removal, NSC, soluble sugar, and starch significantly decreased with the increasing snow depth. The ratio of soluble sugar to starch significantly increased, while NSC and soluble sugar gradually returned to the normal level with an increase in snow years. It is worth mentioning that snow removal significantly reduced the soluble sugar to starch ratio compared to ambient snow depth, whereas the double snow experiment significantly increased the ratio of soluble sugar to starch during winter. This indicated an obvious trade-off between carbon utilization and carbon storage in Syntrichia caninervis. Snow removal stimulated Syntrichia caninervis to store sufficient carbon sources by starch accumulation for its future growth, while double snow promoted its current growth by soluble sugar accumulation. The variance in decomposition showed that soil physical and chemical properties, snow cover, and their interaction explained 83% of the variation in NSC and its components, with soil and plant water content, pH, and electrical conductivity (P-WC, S-WC, S-pH, and S-EC) as significant predictors. This highlights that snow indirectly affected NSC and its component contents by changing soil physical and chemical properties; however, long-term changes in snow cover could slow down its sensitivity to snow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shujun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Ziyi Liu
- Department of Geography, Economics and Geography-BSc(Econ), University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sulayman Mamtimin
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China
| | - Xiaobing Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Benfeng Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Yuanming Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
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García‐Velázquez L, Gallardo A, Ochoa V, Gozalo B, Lázaro R, Maestre FT. Biocrusts increase the resistance to warming-induced increases in topsoil P pools. THE JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2022; 110:2074-2087. [PMID: 36250131 PMCID: PMC9541718 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing global warming and alterations in rainfall patterns driven by climate change are known to have large impacts on biogeochemical cycles, particularly on drylands. In addition, the global increase in atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can destabilize primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems, and phosphorus (P) may become the most limiting nutrient in many terrestrial ecosystems. However, the impacts of climate change on soil P pools in drylands remain poorly understood. Furthermore, it is unknown whether biocrusts, a major biotic component of drylands worldwide, modulate such impacts.Here we used two long-term (8-10 years) experiments conducted in Central (Aranjuez) and SE (Sorbas) Spain to test how a ~2.5°C warming, a ~30% rainfall reduction and biocrust cover affected topsoil (0-1 cm) P pools (non-occluded P, organic P, calcium bound P, occluded P and total P).Warming significantly increased most P pools-except occluded P-in Aranjuez, whereas only augmented non-occluded P in Sorbas. The rainfall reduction treatment had no effect on the soil P pools at any experimental site. Biocrusts increased most soil P pools and conferred resistance to simulated warming for major P pools at both sites, and to rainfall reduction for non-occluded and occluded P in Aranjuez. Synthesis. Our findings provide novel insights on the responses of soil P pools to warming and rainfall reduction, and highlight the importance of biocrusts as modulators of these responses in dryland ecosystems. Our results suggest that the observed negative impacts of warming on dryland biocrust communities will decrease their capacity to buffer changes in topsoil P driven by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura García‐Velázquez
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y NaturalesUniversidad Pablo de OlavideSevillaSpain
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef”Universidad de AlicanteAlicanteSpain
| | - Antonio Gallardo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y NaturalesUniversidad Pablo de OlavideSevillaSpain
- Unidad Asociada CSIC‐UPO (BioFun), Universidad Pablo de OlavideSevillaSpain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef”Universidad de AlicanteAlicanteSpain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef”Universidad de AlicanteAlicanteSpain
| | - Roberto Lázaro
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Carretera de SacramentoAlmeríaSpain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef”Universidad de AlicanteAlicanteSpain
- Departamento de EcologíaUniversidad de AlicanteAlicanteSpain
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Sun J, Li X. Water Availability, Soil Characteristics, and Confounding Effects on the Patterns of Biocrust Diversity in the Desert Regions of Northern China. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:835668. [PMID: 35720603 PMCID: PMC9199854 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.835668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The species diversity of biocrusts is an important community characteristic in determining their multiple ecosystem functions. Hence, understanding the diversity patterns of biocrusts and their environmental drivers is of fundamental importance. However, explain variables often correlated with each other; thus, the confounding effects among them may arise and result in spurious causal relationships and biased ecological inferences. In this study, we investigated the richness of three biocrust-forming components (mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria-algae) and their environmental variables across six desert regions of northern China. A comparison between conventional redundancy analysis (RDA) and structural equation model (SEM) was conducted to study the environmental driver-richness relationship and the confounding effects. Our results showed that three latent variables related to water availability, soil texture, and soil salinity and sodicity, could account for the main environmental variations and explain the diversity patterns of biocrusts at the intracontinental scale. Water availability was positively and negatively related to the richness of mosses and cyanobacteria-algae, respectively, while soil texture was positively related to the richness of lichens. In addition, environmental variables confounded with each other caused distinct driver-richness relationships between results of RDA and SEM. Therefore, we suggest that future multivariable studies should utilize path analysis in conjunction with conventional canonical ordination to facilitate more rigorous ecological inferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyao Sun
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-Physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xinrong Li
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-Physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
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13
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Xu H, Zhang Y, Shao X, Liu N. Soil nitrogen and climate drive the positive effect of biological soil crusts on soil organic carbon sequestration in drylands: A Meta-analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 803:150030. [PMID: 34525688 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (BSCs), known as ecological engineers, play an important role in soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in dryland ecosystems. Although numerous individual studies had been conducted, the global patterns of the changes in SOC concentration following BSCs establishment remain unclear. In this study, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of 184 independent observations at 47 sites to quantify the responses of SOC and other soil variables to BSCs establishment and identify the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that BSCs generally increased SOC by 70.9% compared to the controls (uncrusted soil), and the positive effects of BSCs on SOC in deserts (120.3%) were stronger than those in grasslands (32.7%). Mosses and lichens had a stronger positive effect on SOC than algae crusts (67.5%, 82.8%, and 58.2% respectively). Mixed crusts accumulated more SOC (181.6%) than single (moss, lichen and algae) crusts. The presence of BSCs considerably increased total nitrogen (TN) (+80.7%), total phosphorus (TP) (+20.3%), available N (+62.7%), and available P (+14.3%). Significant relationships were observed among the effect size of SOC and climate and soil N and P in both desert and grassland. The random forest analysis showed that TN could be considered as a determinant of the concentration of SOC, followed by climate (P < 0.01). Our study shows that the capacity of the BSCs to fix and store C could be regulated by soil N and P dynamics, indicating a major finding opening new ways to promote soil recovery and formation. Our findings highlight the remarkable contribution of mixed crusts to soil C pools; this contribution needs to be incorporated into regional and global models to predict the effects of human disturbance on drylands worldwide and for assessing the soil C budget.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hengkang Xu
- College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yingjun Zhang
- College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Grassland Management and Rational Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xinqing Shao
- College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Nan Liu
- College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Grassland Management and Rational Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100193, China.
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Xu Y, Yang R, Zhang J, Gao L, Ni X. Distribution and dispersion of heavy metals in the rock-soil-moss system of the black shale areas in the southeast of Guizhou Province, China. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:854-867. [PMID: 34342823 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-15335-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Black shales are easily exposed due to human activities such as mining, road construction, and shale gas development, which results in several environmental issues including heavy metal (HM) pollution, soil erosion, and the destruction of vegetation. Mosses are widely used to monitor metal pollution in the atmosphere, but few studies on the distribution and dispersion of HMs in the rock-soil-moss system are available. Here, mosses (Pohlia flexuosa Harv. in Hook), growing soils, and corresponding parent rocks were collected from black shale areas. After appropriate pretreatment, samples were analyzed for multiple elemental concentrations by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. The results show that black shale parent rocks have elevated HM concentration and act as a source of multiple metals. The overlying soil significantly inherits and accumulates heavy metals released from black shale. Significant positive correlations between HMs in P. flexuosa and the growing soils indicate that HMs are mainly originating from geological source rather than atmospheric deposition. Differential accumulation of HMs is observed between rhizoids and stems in our study. Moreover, P. flexuosa is able to cope with high concentrations of toxic metals without any visible negative effect on its growth and development. Finally, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) for all the HMs in P. flexuosa is less than 1, indicating that it has a tolerance and exclusion mechanism for these metals, especially for the non-essential elements As and Pb. Therefore, the luxuriant and spontaneous growth of P. flexuosa could be used as a phytostabilization pioneer plant in the black shale outcrop where vascular plants are rare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyuan Xu
- College of Resources and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
- Key Laboratory of Karst Georesources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Ruidong Yang
- College of Resources and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China.
- Key Laboratory of Karst Georesources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China.
| | - Jian Zhang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225127, China
| | - Lei Gao
- College of Resources and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
- Key Laboratory of Karst Georesources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Xinran Ni
- College of Resources and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
- Key Laboratory of Karst Georesources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
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15
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Ndinga-Muniania C, Mueller RC, Kuske CR, Porras-Alfaro A. Seasonal variation and potential roles of dark septate fungi in an arid grassland. Mycologia 2021; 113:1181-1198. [PMID: 34686124 DOI: 10.1080/00275514.2021.1965852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
High temperatures and extended drought in temperate and tropical arid ecosystems promote the colonization of diverse microenvironments by dark septate fungi (DSF). These fungi contribute to soil nutrient cycling, soil stabilization, and plant survival, but the roles of individual DSF species, their distributions, and their community diversity are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution, seasonal variation, and potential roles of DSF on plant growth. We collected biocrust (lichen-, moss-, and cyanobacterium-dominated biocrusts) soils at different depths and rhizosphere soils from two grasses, Bromus tectorum and Pleuraphis jamesii, in an arid grassland near Moab, Utah, USA. Seasonal variation of DSF was evaluated using culture-based approaches and compared with fungal community profiles from next-generation sequencing (NGS). Culturing showed that DSF were 30% more abundant in biocrusts compared with the focal rhizospheres. The abundance of DSF varied seasonally in belowground samples (rhizosphere and below-biocrust), with a significant increase during the summer months. Pleosporales was the dominant order (35%) in both biocrust and rhizosphere soils out of 817 isolated fungi. Dominant DSF genera in culture included Alternaria, Preussia, Cladosporium, Phoma, and an unknown Pleosporales. Similar results were observed in biocrust and rhizosphere soils NGS. Further, seed germination experiments using dominant taxa were conducted to determine their potential roles on germination and seedling growth using maize as a model plant. Cladosporium and unknown Pleosporales isolates showed plant growth-promoting ability. The variation in abundance of DSF, their differential occurrence in different microenvironments, and their ability to grow in a xerotolerant medium reflect adaptations to summer environmental conditions and to changes in the abundance of organic matter, as well as a potential increase in plant investment in these fungi when heat and drought stresses are more severe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedric Ndinga-Muniania
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for Environmental Studies, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois 61455.,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, 55108, Minnesota
| | - Rebecca C Mueller
- Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717
| | - Cheryl R Kuske
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
| | - Andrea Porras-Alfaro
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for Environmental Studies, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois 61455.,Division of Environmental Biology, National Science Foundation, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
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17
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Nimis PL, Martellos S, Chiarucci A, Ongaro S, Peplis M, Pittao E, Nascimbene J. Exploring the relationships between ecology and species traits in cyanolichens: A case study on Italy. FUNGAL ECOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2020.100950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Kuang X, Shao J, Peng L, Song H, Wei X, Luo S, Gu JD. Nano-TiO 2 enhances the adsorption of Cd(II) on biological soil crusts under mildly acidic conditions. JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY 2020; 229:103583. [PMID: 31818435 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2019.103583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (BSCs), which are ubiquitous in paddy fields, are known to remove pollutants from paddy fields systems. The Nano-TiO2 enhanced the removal of Cd(II) by BSC under acidic irrigation water was found, and its mechanism was investigated. After the addition of nano-TiO2, the Cd(II) removal efficiency of BSCS increased by 26.70% than that of pure BSCs, and the Nano-TiO2 induced faster removal velocity as well. Zeta potential and potentiometric titration results revealed that BSCs generated more negative charges and sites concentration after addition of Nano-TiO2 at acidic environment. The carboxyl and amino/hydroxyl groups were the main functional groups on BSC and the BSC + TiO2. The higher concentration of amino/hydroxyl groups in BSC + TiO2 (0.33 ± 0.08 mmol/g) was present than that of pristine BSCs (0.62 ± 0.02 mmol/g), and they were with similar concentration of phosphate groups and carboxyl groups. This result was attributed to the Nano-TiO2 stimulated the BSCs to produce more extracellular polysaccharides and proteins. Our findings would provide novel strategy for the removal of cadmium from acidic irrigation water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Kuang
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Jihai Shao
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Liang Peng
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China.
| | - Huijuan Song
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Xiangdong Wei
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Si Luo
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China; Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
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Fisher K, Jefferson JS, Vaishampayan P. Bacterial Communities of Mojave Desert Biological Soil Crusts Are Shaped by Dominant Photoautotrophs and the Presence of Hypolithic Niches. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Jung P, Baumann K, Lehnert LW, Samolov E, Achilles S, Schermer M, Wraase LM, Eckhardt KU, Bader MY, Leinweber P, Karsten U, Bendix J, Büdel B. Desert breath-How fog promotes a novel type of soil biocenosis, forming the coastal Atacama Desert's living skin. GEOBIOLOGY 2020; 18:113-124. [PMID: 31721410 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar desert on Earth, presenting precarious conditions for biological activity. In the arid coastal belt, life is restricted to areas with fog events that cause almost daily wet-dry cycles. In such an area, we discovered a hitherto unknown and unique ground covering biocenosis dominated by lichens, fungi, and algae attached to grit-sized (~6 mm) quartz and granitoid stones. Comparable biocenosis forming a kind of a layer on top of soil and rock surfaces in general is summarized as cryptogamic ground covers (CGC) in literature. In contrast to known CGC from arid environments to which frequent cyclic wetting events are lethal, in the Atacama Desert every fog event is answered by photosynthetic activity of the soil community and thus considered as the desert's breath. Photosynthesis of the new CGC type is activated by the lowest amount of water known for such a community worldwide thus enabling the unique biocenosis to fulfill a variety of ecosystem services. In a considerable portion of the coastal Atacama Desert, it protects the soil from sporadically occurring splash erosion and contributes to the accumulation of soil carbon and nitrogen as well as soil formation through bio-weathering. The structure and function of the new CGC type are discussed, and we suggest the name grit-crust. We conclude that this type of CGC can be expected in all non-polar fog deserts of the world and may resemble the cryptogam communities that shaped ancient Earth. It may thus represent a relevant player in current and ancient biogeochemical cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Jung
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Karen Baumann
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Soil Science, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Lukas W Lehnert
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - Elena Samolov
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Applied Ecology and Phycology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Sebastian Achilles
- Faculty of Geography, Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Michael Schermer
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Luise M Wraase
- Faculty of Geography, Ecological Plant Geography, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Kai-Uwe Eckhardt
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Soil Science, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Maaike Y Bader
- Faculty of Geography, Ecological Plant Geography, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Peter Leinweber
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Soil Science, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Ulf Karsten
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Applied Ecology and Phycology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Jörg Bendix
- Faculty of Geography, Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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21
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Soil pH Responses to Simulated Acid Rain Leaching in Three Agricultural Soils. SUSTAINABILITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/su12010280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Soil has the nature of acidity and alkalinity, mostly indicated by soil pH that could greatly affect soil ecological processes and functions. With exogenous inputs of acidic materials (such as acid rain), soils may more or less resist to maintain their pH levels within specific thresholds by various buffering processes. It has been well established that soil properties such as cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOM), and clay content play important roles in mitigating the effects of acid inputs, but the factors varied across soils. This microcosm experiment was conducted to investigate changes in the soil pH and quantitatively estimate the critical pH threshold of simulated acid rain for three highly weathered soils (red soil, lateritic red soil, and latosol) that are typical soil types widely distributed across the world’s subtropical and tropical climatic zones, as well as important influential factors, after continuously adding different levels of simulated acid rain on the surface of soil cores. The results showed that the change in the soil pH was not significantly different among the three soils, although it was exponentially related to soil CEC and clay content. Resultantly, the latosol that had high soil CEC and clay content was more resistant to simulated acid rain, especially when relatively weak simulated acid rain treatments were applied. The lateritic red soil that contained the lowest soil CEC and clay content showed the greatest decline in the soil pH under the strongest simulated acid rain treatment of pH being 2.5. Furthermore, we estimated the critical pH threshold of simulated acid rain for the three soils and observed that it was considerably different among the soils. Surprisingly, the pH threshold of simulated acid rain was also positively related to the soil CEC and clay content, therefore making the highest pH threshold in the latosol. Our results imply that soil CEC and clay content may play critical roles in the soil acid-buffering processes from two aspects; it could not only contribute to the soil acid-buffering capacity, but also affect the threshold of acidity of acid rain below which abrupt soil acidification may occur.
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Song H, Peng L, Li Z, Deng X, Shao J, Gu JD. Metal distribution and biological diversity of crusts in paddy fields polluted with different levels of cadmium. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2019; 184:109620. [PMID: 31493587 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Revised: 08/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The paddy-crusts (PCs) play an important pole in the transformation and transfer of heavy metal in paddy. Different PCs were collected from paddy fields whose soils contained cadmium (Cd) at four concentration levels (0.61, 0.71, 1.53, and 7.08 mg/kg) in Hunan Province, China P.R. at Sep 2017. This metal's distribution among and biological community structures of PCs were both measured. Our results indicated that PCs were able to accumulate Cd from irrigation water and soil. With greater Cd levels in paddy fields, the weak EPS-binding Cd fraction decreased whereas the non-EDTA-exchangeable Cd fraction increased. The sorbed Cd fraction was initially enhanced at low-to mid-level Cd concentrations, but then gradually declined. Biomineralization was shown to function as the dominant Cd accumulation mechanism in non-EDTA-exchangeable fractions. The biological diversity of soil microbes decreased with more Cd in soil, and the Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria were the dominant phyla in all the sampled PCs. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) between the composition of microbial communities and soil chemical variables in the PCs clustered all samples based on the Cd-contaminated level, and demonstrated that Cd, Mn, and Fe all significantly influenced the microbial communities. In particular, the Alphaproteobacteria and Chloroplast classes of bacteria may play a significant role in Cd accumulation via the bio-mineralization process. Taken together, our results provide basic empirical information to better understand the heavy metal speciation transformation mechanisms of PCs upon Cd-contaminated paddy fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huijuan Song
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, PR China.
| | - Liang Peng
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, PR China.
| | - Zhiyi Li
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, PR China
| | - Xiaozhou Deng
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, PR China
| | - Jihai Shao
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, PR China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, PR China; Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
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Spectral Response Analysis: An Indirect and Non-Destructive Methodology for the Chlorophyll Quantification of Biocrusts. REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11111350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Chlorophyll a concentration (Chla) is a well-proven proxy of biocrust development, photosynthetic organisms’ status, and recovery monitoring after environmental disturbances. However, laboratory methods for the analysis of chlorophyll require destructive sampling and are expensive and time consuming. Indirect estimation of chlorophyll a by means of soil surface reflectance analysis has been demonstrated to be an accurate, cheap, and quick alternative for chlorophyll retrieval information, especially in plants. However, its application to biocrusts has yet to be harnessed. In this study we evaluated the potential of soil surface reflectance measurements for non-destructive Chla quantification over a range of biocrust types and soils. Our results revealed that from the different spectral transformation methods and techniques, the first derivative of the reflectance and the continuum removal were the most accurate for Chla retrieval. Normalized difference values in the red-edge region and common broadband indexes (e.g., normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) were also sensitive to changes in Chla. However, such approaches should be carefully adapted to each specific biocrust type. On the other hand, the combination of spectral measurements with non-linear random forest (RF) models provided very good fits (R2 > 0.94) with a mean root mean square error (RMSE) of about 6.5 µg/g soil, and alleviated the need for a specific calibration for each crust type, opening a wide range of opportunities to advance our knowledge of biocrust responses to ongoing global change and degradation processes from anthropogenic disturbance.
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Oren N, Raanan H, Kedem I, Turjeman A, Bronstein M, Kaplan A, Murik O. Desert cyanobacteria prepare in advance for dehydration and rewetting: The role of light and temperature sensing. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:2305-2320. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nadav Oren
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
| | - Hagai Raanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
- Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Rutgers University New Brunswick New Jersey
| | - Isaac Kedem
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
| | - Adi Turjeman
- The Center for Genomic Technologies The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
| | - Michal Bronstein
- The Center for Genomic Technologies The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
| | - Aaron Kaplan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
| | - Omer Murik
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
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Peng L, Deng X, Song H, Tan X, Gu JD, Luo S, Lei M. Manganese enhances the immobilization of trace cadmium from irrigation water in biological soil crust. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2019; 168:369-377. [PMID: 30396133 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.10.087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The effect of biological soil crust (BSC) in paddy field on the immobilization and removal of heavy metal from irrigation water is an important issue. BSC was cultured in solutions with different concentrations of manganese (Mn) salt and cadmium (Cd) sulfate for 15 days. We analyzed the Mn, Cd and Fe contents in the BSC and investigated the effects of Mn salt on the Cd distribution in different binding-forms in BSC as well. The results show that Mn salt was effective at enabling BSC to immobilize the Cd, and its removal efficiency from irrigation water improved with an increase in the Mn concentration used. The removal of 50.00 μg/L of Cd from irrigation water by BSC reached as high as 95.70% in present of 20.00 mg/L Mn. The highest obtained biological concentrated factor of BSC for Cd is ~2.7 × 104. The mainly Cd species (75%) in BSC is the non-EDTA extracted minerals. Based on the SEM-EDS and XPS analyses, it was reasonably inferred that the Mn ion was oxidized by Mn oxidizing bacteria (MOB), to yield the porous spongy-like birnessite with d-spacing of 2.31 Ǻ, while Cd was scavenged and immobilized in the crystal lattice. The MOB was identified as Bacillus. This study provides a potentially novel method to decontaminate irrigation water polluted with Cd by using BSC in presence of Mn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Peng
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Xiaozhou Deng
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Huijuan Song
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Xiaoke Tan
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China; Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Si Luo
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
| | - Ming Lei
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
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26
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Variations in Soil Water Content and Evapotranspiration in Relation to Precipitation Pulses within Desert Steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. WATER 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/w11020198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Neither single nor discontinuous hydrological observation data can truly reflect periodic changes in soil moisture under natural conditions or interrelationships between various water sources. Therefore, in this study, precipitation pulse characteristics and variations in the soil water content (SWC) and actual evapotranspiration (ETa) in relation to pulses are explored through a field multi-water continuous observation system set in desert steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. A comparison between precipitation events in the growing seasons of 2016 and 2017 shows that precipitation events that are greater than 10 mm are the main cause of dramatic interannual precipitation variations in this region. A single small precipitation event has a limited impact on SWC and provides no obvious increase in the SWC within the top 10 cm soil layer. The precipitation interval ratio (P/I) is suitable for comparing water stresses of different drying-wetting cycles, and correlations between soil layers are found to be closer in humid years than in dry years. In this study, three modes of interpulse ETa in the desert steppe are discussed: a stable ETa mode under a water-sufficient condition, an attenuation ETa mode, and a stable ETa mode under extreme drought conditions.
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Baldauf S, Ladrón de Guevara M, Maestre FT, Tietjen B. Soil moisture dynamics under two rainfall frequency treatments drive early spring CO 2 gas exchange of lichen-dominated biocrusts in central Spain. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5904. [PMID: 30479893 PMCID: PMC6241396 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biocrusts, communities dominated by mosses, lichens, cyanobacteria, and other microorganisms, largely affect the carbon cycle of drylands. As poikilohydric organisms, their activity time is often limited to short hydration events. The photosynthetic and respiratory response of biocrusts to hydration events is not only determined by the overall amount of available water, but also by the frequency and size of individual rainfall pulses. METHODS We experimentally assessed the carbon exchange of a biocrust community dominated by the lichen Diploschistes diacapsis in central Spain. We compared the effect of two simulated precipitation patterns providing the same overall amount of water, but with different pulse sizes and frequency (high frequency: five mm/day vs. low frequency: 15 mm/3 days), on net/gross photosynthesis and dark respiration. RESULTS Radiation and soil temperature, together with the watering treatment, affected the rates of net and gross photosynthesis, as well as dark respiration. On average, the low frequency treatment showed a 46% ± 3% (mean ± 1 SE) lower rate of net photosynthesis, a 13% ± 7% lower rate of dark respiration, and a 24% ± 8% lower rate of gross photosynthesis. However, on the days when samples of both treatments were watered, no differences between their carbon fluxes were observed. The carbon flux response of D. diacapsis was modulated by the environmental conditions and was particularly dependent on the antecedent soil moisture. DISCUSSION In line with other studies, we found a synergetic effect of individual pulse size, frequency, environmental conditions, and antecedent moisture on the carbon exchange fluxes of biocrusts. However, most studies on this subject were conducted in summer and they obtained results different from ours, so we conclude that there is a need for long-term experiments of manipulated precipitation impacts on the carbon exchange of biocrusts. This will enable a more complete assessment of the impacts of climate change-induced alterations in precipitation patterns on biocrust communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Baldauf
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Biodiversity/Theoretical Ecology, Institute of Biology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Britta Tietjen
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Biodiversity/Theoretical Ecology, Institute of Biology, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
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28
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Rudgers JA, Dettweiler-Robinson E, Belnap J, Green LE, Sinsabaugh RL, Young KE, Cort CE, Darrouzet-Nardi A. Are fungal networks key to dryland primary production? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2018; 105:1783-1787. [PMID: 30376156 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Rudgers
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | | | - Jayne Belnap
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT, 84532, USA
| | - Laura E Green
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Robert L Sinsabaugh
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Kristina E Young
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79902, USA
| | - Catherine E Cort
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79902, USA
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Ladrón de Guevara M, Gozalo B, Raggio J, Lafuente A, Prieto M, Maestre FT. Warming reduces the cover, richness and evenness of lichen-dominated biocrusts but promotes moss growth: insights from an 8 yr experiment. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 220:811-823. [PMID: 29380398 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
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 CO2 and to provide other key ecosystem services associated to these communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - José Raggio
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Angela Lafuente
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - María Prieto
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
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Li XR, Jia RL, Zhang ZS, Zhang P, Hui R. Hydrological response of biological soil crusts to global warming: A ten-year simulative study. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:4960-4971. [PMID: 29957890 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Biological soil crusts across the desert regions play a key role in regional ecological security and ecological health. They are vital biotic components of desert ecosystems that maintain soil stability, fix carbon and nitrogen, influence the establishment of vascular plants, and serve as habitats for a large number of arthropods and microorganisms, as well as influencing soil hydrological processes. Changes in temperature and precipitation are expected to influence the functioning of desert ecosystems by altering biotic components such as the species composition of biological soil crusts. However, it remains unclear how these important components will respond to the prolonged warming and reduced precipitation that is predicted to occur with climate change. To evaluate how the hydrological properties of these biological soil crusts respond to these alterations, we used open-top chambers over a 10-year period to simulate warming and reduced precipitation. Infiltration, dew entrapment, and evaporation were measured as surrogates of the hydrological functioning of biological soil crusts. It was found that the ongoing warming coupled with reduced precipitation will more strongly affect moss in crustal communities than lichens and cyanobacteria, which will lead to a direct alteration of the hydrological performance of biological soil crusts. Reductions in moss abundance, surface cover, and biomass resulted in a change in structure and function of crustal communities, decreased dew entrapment, and increased infiltration and evaporation of biological soil crusts in desert ecosystems, which further impacted on the desert soil water balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Rong Li
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Rong-Liang Jia
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhi-Shan Zhang
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Rong Hui
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
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Jung P, Briegel-Williams L, Schermer M, Büdel B. Strong in combination: Polyphasic approach enhances arguments for cold-assigned cyanobacterial endemism. Microbiologyopen 2018; 8:e00729. [PMID: 30239166 PMCID: PMC6528576 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2018] [Revised: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria of biological soil crusts (BSCs) represent an important part of circumpolar and Alpine ecosystems, serve as indicators for ecological condition and climate change, and function as ecosystem engineers by soil stabilization or carbon and nitrogen input. The characterization of cyanobacteria from both polar regions remains extremely important to understand geographic distribution patterns and community compositions. This study is the first of its kind revealing the efficiency of combining denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), light microscopy and culture‐based 16S rRNA gene sequencing, applied to polar and Alpine cyanobacteria dominated BSCs. This study aimed to show the living proportion of cyanobacteria as an extension to previously published meta‐transcriptome data of the same study sites. Molecular fingerprints showed a distinct clustering of cyanobacterial communities with a close relationship between Arctic and Alpine populations, which differed from those found in Antarctica. Species richness and diversity supported these results, which were also confirmed by microscopic investigations of living cyanobacteria from the BSCs. Isolate‐based sequencing corroborated these trends as cold biome clades were assigned, which included a potentially new Arctic clade of Oculatella. Thus, our results contribute to the debate regarding biogeography of cyanobacteria of cold biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Jung
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Laura Briegel-Williams
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Michael Schermer
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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Dettweiler-Robinson E, Sinsabaugh RL, Rudgers JA. Biocrusts benefit from plant removal. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2018; 105:1133-1141. [PMID: 30011080 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Productivity in drylands may depend on the sensitivity of interactions between plants and biocrusts. Given future climate variability, it is essential to understand how interactions may be context-dependent with precipitation regime. Furthermore, little is known about the additional interactions of these producers with the belowground biota (e.g., roots, fungi, microarthropods). We evaluated the effect of removal (such as could occur following disturbance) and net interaction of plants and biocrusts and additionally manipulated the abiotic and biotic context. METHODS We established field mesocosms containing grass (Bouteloua gracilis) and surrounding biocrusts, then clipped the plant or heat-sterilized the biocrust to simulate the loss of dryland producers. To test for context-dependency on the precipitation pattern, we imposed a large, infrequent or small, frequent precipitation regime. A mesh barrier was used to impede belowground connections that may couple the dynamics of producers. Productivity was assessed by plant biomass and biocrust chlorophyll content. KEY RESULTS Biocrusts increased chlorophyll content more when plants were removed than when they were present in the first year, but only in the small, frequent precipitation regime. In contrast, plant growth slightly declined with biocrust removal. Plant biomass and biocrust chlorophyll content were negatively correlated in the second year, suggesting net competition. Belowground connectivity weakly promoted overall biocrust relative productivity, but was generally weakly detrimental to plant relative productivity. CONCLUSIONS Altered precipitation patterns can amplify positive effects of plant removal on biocrust producers. Furthermore, we discovered that belowground networks contributed to dryland productivity by promoting biocrust performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Dettweiler-Robinson
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, MSC 03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001
| | - Robert L Sinsabaugh
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, MSC 03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001
| | - Jennifer A Rudgers
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, MSC 03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001
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Tucker CL, Ferrenberg S, Reed SC. Climatic Sensitivity of Dryland Soil CO2 Fluxes Differs Dramatically with Biological Soil Crust Successional State. Ecosystems 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-018-0250-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Ouyang H, Hu C. Insight into climate change from the carbon exchange of biocrusts utilizing non-rainfall water. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2573. [PMID: 28566698 PMCID: PMC5451392 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02812-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Biocrusts are model ecosystems of global change studies. However, light and non-rainfall water (NRW) were previously few considered. Different biocrust types further aggravated the inconsistence. So carbon-exchange of biocrusts (cyanobacteria crusts-AC1/AC2; cyanolichen crust-LC1; chlorolichen crust-LC2; moss crust-MC) utilizing NRW at various temperatures and light-intensities were determined under simulated and insitu mesocosm experiments. Carbon input of all biocrusts were negatively correlated with experimental temperature under all light-intensity with saturated water and stronger light with equivalent NRW, but positively correlated with temperature under weak light with equivalent NRW. LCPs and R/Pg of AC1 were lowest, followed in turn by AC2, LC2 and MC. Thus AC1 had most opportunities to use NRW, and 2.5 °C warming did cause significant changes of carbon exchange. Structural equation models further revealed that air-temperature was most important for carbon-exchange of ACs, but equally important as NRW for LC2 and MC; positive influence of warming on carbon-input in ACs was much stronger than the latter. Therefore, temperature effect on biocrust carbon-input depends on both moisture and light. Meanwhile, the role of NRW, transitional states between ACs, and obvious carbon-fixation differences between lichen crusts should be fully considered in the future study of biocrusts responding to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailong Ouyang
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chunxiang Hu
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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Miralles I, Jorge-Villar SE, van Wesemael B, Lázaro R. Raman spectroscopy detection of biomolecules in biocrusts from differing environmental conditions. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2017; 171:40-51. [PMID: 27472170 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2016.07.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2016] [Revised: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Lichens and cyanobacteria colonize inhospitable places covering a wide climate range due to their different survival strategies, such as the synthesis of protective biomolecules. The effect of ecological factors on the synthesis of biomolecules has not been widely analysed. This study aimed to assess the effects of four factors (species, microclimate, seasonality and hydration state) and their interactions on the biomolecule frequency detected by Raman Spectroscopy. We included cyanobacterial biocrusts, and the lichens Diploschistes diacapsis, Squamarina lentigera, and Lepraria isidiata; two contrasted microclimates (typical and marginal), two contrasted seasons (hot and dry vs cool and wet) and two hydration states (dry and wet). "Species" was the most influential factor in the identity and frequency of the main biomolecules. Microclimatic differences in the range of the local specific habitats only influenced the biomolecules in cyanobacteria. There was a quadruple interaction among the factors, the effects being different mainly depending on the species. At D. diacapsis, the production of their main biomolecules depended on microclimate, although it also depended on seasonality. Nevertheless, in L. isidiata and S. lentigera microclimatic differences did not significantly affect the production of biomolecules. In the lichen species, the microhabitats exposed to relatively larger incident radiation did not show significantly larger relative frequency of photoprotective biomolecules. No clear connection between higher production of oxalates and drier microhabitats was found, suggesting that the synthesis of oxalates is not related to water reserve strategy. The pros and cons of monitor biomolecules in biocrust by Raman spectrometry were also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Miralles
- Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain, -La-Neuve, Belgium; Experimental Station of Arid Zones (CSIC), Almería, Spain.
| | - S E Jorge-Villar
- Area de Geodinamica Interna, University of Burgos, Spain; National Center of Research in Human Evolution (CENIEH), Spain
| | - B van Wesemael
- Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain, -La-Neuve, Belgium
| | - R Lázaro
- Experimental Station of Arid Zones (CSIC), Almería, Spain
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Aslam SN, Dumbrell AJ, Sabir JS, Mutwakil MHZ, Baeshen MMN, Abo-Aba SEM, Clark DR, Yates SA, Baeshen NA, Underwood GJC, McGenity TJ. Soil compartment is a major determinant of the impact of simulated rainfall on desert microbiota. Environ Microbiol 2016; 18:5048-5062. [PMID: 27459511 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.13474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Although desert soils support functionally important microbial communities that affect plant growth and influence many biogeochemical processes, the impact of future changes in precipitation patterns on the microbiota and their activities is largely unknown. We performed in-situ experiments to investigate the effect of simulated rainfall on bacterial communities associated with the widespread perennial shrub, Rhazya stricta in Arabian desert soils. The bacterial community composition was distinct between three different soil compartments: surface biological crust, root-attached, and the broader rhizosphere. Simulated rainfall had no significant effect on the overall bacterial community composition, but some population-level responses were observed, especially in soil crusts where Betaproteobacteria, Sphingobacteria, and Bacilli became more abundant. Bacterial biomass in the nutrient-rich crust increased three-fold one week after watering, whereas it did not change in the rhizosphere, despite its much higher water retention. These findings indicate that between rainfall events, desert-soil microbial communities enter into stasis, with limited species turnover, and reactivate rapidly and relatively uniformly when water becomes available. However, microbiota in the crust, which was relatively enriched in nutrients and organic matter, were primarily water-limited, compared with the rhizosphere microbiota that were co-limited by nutrients and water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shazia N Aslam
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK
| | - Alex J Dumbrell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK
| | - Jamal S Sabir
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed H Z Mutwakil
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed M N Baeshen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Salah E M Abo-Aba
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Dave R Clark
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK
| | - Steven A Yates
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK
| | - Nabih A Baeshen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Graham J C Underwood
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK
| | - Terry J McGenity
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK
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Raanan H, Oren N, Treves H, Keren N, Ohad I, Berkowicz SM, Hagemann M, Koch M, Shotland Y, Kaplan A. Towards clarifying what distinguishes cyanobacteria able to resurrect after desiccation from those that cannot: The photosynthetic aspect. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2016; 1857:715-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2016.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Revised: 01/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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38
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Winter snowfall can have a positive effect on photosynthetic carbon fixation and biomass accumulation of biological soil crusts from the Gurbantunggut Desert, China. Ecol Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-016-1335-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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39
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Biocrusts in the Context of Global Change. BIOLOGICAL SOIL CRUSTS: AN ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE IN DRYLANDS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-30214-0_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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40
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Raanan H, Oren N, Treves H, Berkowicz SM, Hagemann M, Pade N, Keren N, Kaplan A. Simulated soil crust conditions in a chamber system provide new insights on cyanobacterial acclimation to desiccation. Environ Microbiol 2015; 18:414-26. [PMID: 26234786 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Environmental research often faces two major hurdles: (i) fluctuating spatial and temporal conditions and consequently large variability in the organisms' abundance and performance, and (ii) complex, costly logistics involved in field experiments. Measurements of physiological parameters or molecular analyses often represent single shot experiments. To study desiccation acclimation of filamentous cyanobacteria, the founders and main primary producers in desert biological soil crusts (BSC), we constructed an environmental chamber that can reproducibly and accurately simulate ambient conditions and measure microorganism performance. We show that recovery from desiccation of BSC cyanobacteria and Leptolyngbya ohadii isolated thereof are strongly affected by dehydration rate following morning dew. This effect is most pronounced in cells exposed to high light and temperature in the dry phase. Simultaneous measurements of water content, gas exchange and fluorescence were performed during dehydration. Photosynthetic performance measured by fluorescence begins declining when light intensity reaches values above 100 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1), even in fully hydrated cells. In contrast, photosynthetic rates measured using O2 evolution and CO2 uptake increased during rising irradiance to the point where the water content declined below ∼ 50%. Thus, fluorescence cannot serve as a reliable measure of photosynthesis in desert cyanobacteria. The effects of drying on gas exchange are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagai Raanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Nadav Oren
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Haim Treves
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Simon M Berkowicz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.,Arid Ecosystems Research Center, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Martin Hagemann
- Institut für Biowissenschaften, Abteilung Pflanzenphysiologie, Universität Rostock, A.-Einstein-Str. 3, Rostock, D-18059, Germany
| | - Nadin Pade
- Institut für Biowissenschaften, Abteilung Pflanzenphysiologie, Universität Rostock, A.-Einstein-Str. 3, Rostock, D-18059, Germany
| | - Nir Keren
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
| | - Aaron Kaplan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.,Arid Ecosystems Research Center, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
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41
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Climate change and physical disturbance manipulations result in distinct biological soil crust communities. Appl Environ Microbiol 2015; 81:7448-59. [PMID: 26276111 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01443-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) colonize plant interspaces in many drylands and are critical to soil nutrient cycling. Multiple climate change and land use factors have been shown to detrimentally impact biocrusts on a macroscopic (i.e., visual) scale. However, the impact of these perturbations on the bacterial components of the biocrusts remains poorly understood. We employed multiple long-term field experiments to assess the impacts of chronic physical (foot trampling) and climatic changes (2°C soil warming, altered summer precipitation [wetting], and combined warming and wetting) on biocrust bacterial biomass, composition, and metabolic profile. The biocrust bacterial communities adopted distinct states based on the mechanism of disturbance. Chronic trampling decreased biomass and caused small community compositional changes. Soil warming had little effect on biocrust biomass or composition, while wetting resulted in an increase in the cyanobacterial biomass and altered bacterial composition. Warming combined with wetting dramatically altered bacterial composition and decreased Cyanobacteria abundance. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing identified four functional gene categories that differed in relative abundance among the manipulations, suggesting that climate and land use changes affected soil bacterial functional potential. This study illustrates that different types of biocrust disturbance damage biocrusts in macroscopically similar ways, but they differentially impact the resident soil bacterial communities, and the communities' functional profiles can differ depending on the disturbance type. Therefore, the nature of the perturbation and the microbial response are important considerations for management and restoration of drylands.
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42
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Abstract
Despite the dominance of microorganisms in arid soils, the structures and functional dynamics of microbial communities in hot deserts remain largely unresolved. The effects of wetting event frequency and intensity on Namib Desert microbial communities from two soils with different water-regime histories were tested over 36 days. A total of 168 soil microcosms received wetting events mimicking fog, light rain and heavy rainfall, with a parallel "dry condition" control. T-RFLP data showed that the different wetting events affected desert microbial community structures, but these effects were attenuated by the effects related to the long-term adaptation of both fungal and bacterial communities to soil origins (i.e. soil water regime histories). The intensity of the water pulses (i.e. the amount of water added) rather than the frequency of wetting events had greatest effect in shaping bacterial and fungal community structures. In contrast to microbial diversity, microbial activities (enzyme activities) showed very little response to the wetting events and were mainly driven by soil origin. This experiment clearly demonstrates the complexity of microbial community responses to wetting events in hyperarid hot desert soil ecosystems and underlines the dynamism of their indigenous microbial communities.
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43
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Raanan H, Felde VJMNL, Peth S, Drahorad S, Ionescu D, Eshkol G, Treves H, Felix-Henningsen P, Berkowicz SM, Keren N, Horn R, Hagemann M, Kaplan A. Three-dimensional structure and cyanobacterial activity within a desert biological soil crust. Environ Microbiol 2015; 18:372-83. [DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2014] [Revised: 02/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hagai Raanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Vincent J. M. N. L. Felde
- Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation; Justus Liebig University Giessen; 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Stephan Peth
- Deparment of Soil Science; Faculty of Ecological Agriculture; University of Kassel; 37213 Witzenhausen Germany
| | - Sylvie Drahorad
- Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation; Justus Liebig University Giessen; 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Danny Ionescu
- The Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology; Celsius Str. 1 28359 Bremen Germany
| | - Gil Eshkol
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Haim Treves
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Peter Felix-Henningsen
- Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation; Justus Liebig University Giessen; 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Simon M. Berkowicz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
- Arid Ecosystems Research Center; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Nir Keren
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Rainer Horn
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science; Christian Albrechts University of Kiel; 24118 Kiel Germany
| | - Martin Hagemann
- Institut für Biowissenschaften; Universität Rostock; D-18059 Rostock Germany
| | - Aaron Kaplan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
- Arid Ecosystems Research Center; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
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44
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Nielsen UN, Ball BA. Impacts of altered precipitation regimes on soil communities and biogeochemistry in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:1407-21. [PMID: 25363193 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 09/28/2014] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Altered precipitation patterns resulting from climate change will have particularly significant consequences in water-limited ecosystems, such as arid to semi-arid ecosystems, where discontinuous inputs of water control biological processes. Given that these ecosystems cover more than a third of Earth's terrestrial surface, it is important to understand how they respond to such alterations. Altered water availability may impact both aboveground and belowground communities and the interactions between these, with potential impacts on ecosystem functioning; however, most studies to date have focused exclusively on vegetation responses to altered precipitation regimes. To synthesize our understanding of potential climate change impacts on dryland ecosystems, we present here a review of current literature that reports the effects of precipitation events and altered precipitation regimes on belowground biota and biogeochemical cycling. Increased precipitation generally increases microbial biomass and fungal:bacterial ratio. Few studies report responses to reduced precipitation but the effects likely counter those of increased precipitation. Altered precipitation regimes have also been found to alter microbial community composition but broader generalizations are difficult to make. Changes in event size and frequency influences invertebrate activity and density with cascading impacts on the soil food web, which will likely impact carbon and nutrient pools. The long-term implications for biogeochemical cycling are inconclusive but several studies suggest that increased aridity may cause decoupling of carbon and nutrient cycling. We propose a new conceptual framework that incorporates hierarchical biotic responses to individual precipitation events more explicitly, including moderation of microbial activity and biomass by invertebrate grazing, and use this framework to make some predictions on impacts of altered precipitation regimes in terms of event size and frequency as well as mean annual precipitation. While our understanding of dryland ecosystems is improving, there is still a great need for longer term in situ manipulations of precipitation regime to test our model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uffe N Nielsen
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment and School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
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45
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Li K, Bai Z, Zhang H. Community succession of bacteria and eukaryotes in dune ecosystems of Gurbantünggüt Desert, Northwest China. Extremophiles 2014; 19:171-81. [PMID: 25253412 DOI: 10.1007/s00792-014-0696-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/14/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Pyrosequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction of small subunit rRNA genes were used to provide a comprehensive examination of bacterial, cyanobacterial, and eukaryotic communities in the biological soil crusts (BSCs) of Gurbantünggüt Desert sand dunes (China). Three succession stages were recognized based on the analyses of eukaryotic communities: a late succession stage of BSCs in a swale with eukaryotes mainly related to the Bryophyta clade, an initial succession stage in a slope with barely any eukaryotic phototrophic microorganisms detected, and an intermediate succession type detected from both the swale and slope BSCs dominated by the phylum Chlorophyta. Moreover, the cyanobacterial community dominated all of the BSCs (48.2-69.5% of the total bacteria) and differed among the three succession stages: sequences related to Microcoleus steenstrupii and the genus Scytonema were abundant in the later succession stage, whereas both the initial and intermediate stages were dominated by Microcoleus vaginatus. Compared with swales, BSCs from slopes are exposed to a harsher environment, e.g., higher irradiance and lower water availability, and thus may be restricted from developing to a higher succession stage. Other disturbances such as wind and grazing may explain the different succession stages observed in swales or slopes. However, no clear differences were detected from non-phototrophic bacterial communities of the three succession stages, and sequences related to Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were most abundant in all the BSCs. The closest matches for the most frequent non-phototrophic bacterial genera were mainly derived from harsh environments, indicating the robustness of these genera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Li
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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46
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Physiology-based prognostic modeling of the influence of changes in precipitation on a keystone dryland plant species. Oecologia 2014; 176:933-42. [PMID: 25193314 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3067-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2014] [Accepted: 08/22/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Fluctuations in mean annual precipitation (MAP) will strongly influence the ecology of dryland ecosystems in the future, yet, because individual precipitation events drive growth and resource availability for many dryland organisms, changes in intra-annual precipitation may disproportionately influence future dryland processes. This work examines the hypothesis that intra-annual precipitation changes will drive dryland productivity to a greater extent than changes to MAP. To test this hypothesis, we created a physiology-based model to predict the effects of precipitation change on a widespread biocrust moss that regulates soil structure, water retention, and nutrient cycling in drylands. First, we used the model to examine moss productivity over the next 100 years driven by alterations in MAP by ± 10, 20 and 30%, and changes in intra-annual precipitation (event size and frequency). Productivity increased as a function of MAP, but differed among simulations where intra-annual precipitation was manipulated under constant MAP. Supporting our hypothesis, this demonstrates that, even if MAP does not change, changes in the features of individual precipitation events can strongly influence long-term performance. Second, we used the model to examine 100-year productivity based on projected dryland precipitation from published global and regional models. These simulations predicted 25-63% reductions in productivity and increased moss mortality rates, declines that will likely alter water and nutrient cycling in dryland ecosystems. Intra-annual precipitation in model-based simulations was a stronger predictor of productivity compared to MAP, further supporting our hypothesis, and illustrating that intra-annual precipitation patterns may dominate dryland responses to altered precipitation in a future climate.
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47
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Biological soil crusts influence carbon release responses following rainfall in a temperate desert, northern China. Ecol Res 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-014-1177-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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48
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Gao GL, Ding GD, Wu B, Zhang YQ, Qin SG, Zhao YY, Bao YF, Liu YD, Wan L, Deng JF. Fractal scaling of particle size distribution and relationships with topsoil properties affected by biological soil crusts. PLoS One 2014; 9:e88559. [PMID: 24516668 PMCID: PMC3917891 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2013] [Accepted: 01/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Biological soil crusts are common components of desert ecosystem; they cover ground surface and interact with topsoil that contribute to desertification control and degraded land restoration in arid and semiarid regions. Methodology/Principal Findings To distinguish the changes in topsoil affected by biological soil crusts, we compared topsoil properties across three types of successional biological soil crusts (algae, lichens, and mosses crust), as well as the referenced sandland in the Mu Us Desert, Northern China. Relationships between fractal dimensions of soil particle size distribution and selected soil properties were discussed as well. The results indicated that biological soil crusts had significant positive effects on soil physical structure (P<0.05); and soil organic carbon and nutrients showed an upward trend across the successional stages of biological soil crusts. Fractal dimensions ranged from 2.1477 to 2.3032, and significantly linear correlated with selected soil properties (R2 = 0.494∼0.955, P<0.01). Conclusions/Significance Biological soil crusts cause an important increase in soil fertility, and are beneficial to sand fixation, although the process is rather slow. Fractal dimension proves to be a sensitive and useful index for quantifying changes in soil properties that additionally implies desertification. This study will be essential to provide a firm basis for future policy-making on optimal solutions regarding desertification control and assessment, as well as degraded ecosystem restoration in arid and semiarid regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang-Lei Gao
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Guo-Dong Ding
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Yanchi Research Station, Yanchi, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Bin Wu
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Yanchi Research Station, Yanchi, China
| | - Yu-Qing Zhang
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Yanchi Research Station, Yanchi, China
| | - Shu-Gao Qin
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Yanchi Research Station, Yanchi, China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Zhao
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Yanchi Research Station, Yanchi, China
| | - Yan-Feng Bao
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Yun-Dong Liu
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Li Wan
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Ji-Feng Deng
- College of Soil & Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
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Diurnal variations of chlorophyll fluorescence and CO2 exchange of biological soil crusts in different successional stages in the Gurbantunggut Desert of northwestern China. Ecol Res 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-013-1122-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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50
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Maestre FT, Escolar C, de Guevara ML, Quero JL, Lázaro R, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Ochoa V, Berdugo M, Gozalo B, Gallardo A. Changes in biocrust cover drive carbon cycle responses to climate change in drylands. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2013; 19:3835-47. [PMID: 23818331 PMCID: PMC3942145 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 06/06/2013] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Dryland ecosystems account for ca. 27% of global soil organic carbon (C) reserves, yet it is largely unknown how climate change will impact C cycling and storage in these areas. In drylands, soil C concentrates at the surface, making it particularly sensitive to the activity of organisms inhabiting the soil uppermost levels, such as communities dominated by lichens, mosses, bacteria and fungi (biocrusts). We conducted a full factorial warming and rainfall exclusion experiment at two semiarid sites in Spain to show how an average increase of air temperature of 2-3 °C promoted a drastic reduction in biocrust cover (ca. 44% in 4 years). Warming significantly increased soil CO2 efflux, and reduced soil net CO2 uptake, in biocrust-dominated microsites. Losses of biocrust cover with warming through time were paralleled by increases in recalcitrant C sources, such as aromatic compounds, and in the abundance of fungi relative to bacteria. The dramatic reduction in biocrust cover with warming will lessen the capacity of drylands to sequester atmospheric CO2 . This decrease may act synergistically with other warming-induced effects, such as the increase in soil CO2 efflux and the changes in microbial communities to alter C cycling in drylands, and to reduce soil C stocks in the mid to long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando T. Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Cristina Escolar
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento, s/n, 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano-Almería, Spain
| | - José L. Quero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
- Departamento de Ingeniería Forestal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica y de Montes, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Crta. N-IV km. 396, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
| | - Roberto Lázaro
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento, s/n, 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano-Almería, Spain
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Antonio Gallardo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
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