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The World at Your Feet: Desert Biological Soil Crusts

Citation

Jayne Belnap, The World at Your Feet: Desert Biological Soil Crusts: .

Summary

Desert soil surfaces are generally covered with biological soil crusts, composed of a group of organisms dominated by cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses. Despite their unassuming appearance, these tiny organisms are surprisingly important to many processes in past and present desert ecosystems. Cyanobacteria similar to those seen today have been found as 1.2 billion-year-old terrestrial fossils, and they probably stabilized soils then as they do now. Biological crusts are vital in creating and maintaining fertility in otherwise infertile desert soils. They fix both carbon and nitrogen, much of which is leaked to the surrounding soils. They also capture nutrient-rich dust, and can stimulate plant growth. These organisms are able to [...]

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Author :
Jayne Belnap

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Communities

  • Upper Colorado River Basin

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From Source - Mendeley RIS export <br> On - Tue May 10 10:37:40 CDT 2011

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Title Citation The World at Your Feet: Desert Biological Soil Crusts

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