Ecological characterization of soil-inhabiting and hypolithic soil crusts within the Knersvlakte, South Africa
Bettina Weber,Bettina Weber,D.C.J. Wessels,Kirstin Deutschewitz,Stephanie Dojani,Hans Reichenberger,Burkhard Büdel +6 more
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In this paper, a transect approach was used to determine the frequency of hypolithic growth depending on the size, weight, and embedding depth of the quartz pebbles.Abstract:
Within the Knersvlakte, cyanobacteria occur hypolithically underneath translucent quartz stones in areas with quartz pavement and, outside pavement areas, they are soil-inhabiting within the uppermost millimeters of the soil. Both habitats were characterized in terms of biomass and growth patterns of cyanobacteria. Long-term microclimatic conditions were determined. Biomass of organisms within both habitats was determined by means of chlorophyll analyses. A transect approach was used to determine the frequency of hypolithic growth depending on the size, weight, and embedding depth of the quartz pebbles. Organisms were identified by means of microscopic analyses of the samples. Microclimatic conditions within both habitats, i.e., temperature, light intensity, air humidity, and soil moisture, were recorded bi-hourly from September 23, 2004 through September 7, 2006. The biomass of hypolithic and soil-inhabiting crusts was almost identical, 88 vs. 86 mg Chla/m2 and 136 vs. 134 mg Chla+b/m2. Within the quartz fields, 46.8% of the surface area was covered by quartz stones with 69% of translucent quartz stones colonized by hypolithic cyanobacteria and algae. Colonized quartz stones were significantly thicker, heavier, and more deeply embedded in the soil than uncolonized ones. Whereas the annual mean temperature on top of quartz stones was nearly identical to that underneath thin and thick quartz stones, daily temperature amplitudes were largest on the stone surface (up to 48.1K), compared to the hypolithic habitats (up to 39.4K). Light intensity in the hypolithic habitat was between 15 and 30% of the ambient light intensity during daytime. Water condensation in the absence of rain occurred during 50% of the nights on the quartz stone surface, but only during 34% of the nights on the soil surface during winter months within 1 year. Soil moisture beneath quartz layers was greater and less variable than beneath soil-inhabiting crusts. In spite of the large differences in the microclimatic conditions, both habitats seem to be similarly well suited for cyanobacterial growth, resulting in equal biomass values but some differences in taxonomic composition.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Global Diversity of Desert Hypolithic Cyanobacteria.
Donnabella C. Lacap-Bugler,Kevin K. Lee,Stephen D. J. Archer,Len N. Gillman,Maggie C. Y. Lau,Sebastian Leuzinger,Charles Kai-Wu Lee,Teruya Maki,Christopher P. McKay,John K. Perrott,Asuncion de los Rios-Murillo,Kimberley A. Warren-Rhodes,David Hopkins,Stephen B. Pointing,Stephen B. Pointing +14 more
TL;DR: Results indicate desert hypoliths worldwide are dominated by cyanobacteria and that growing season is a useful predictor of their abundance, and that shorter growing seasons supported communities with greater abundance of producers.
Journal ArticleDOI
Emission of nitrous acid from soil and biological soil crusts represents an important source of HONO in the remote atmosphere in Cyprus
Hannah Meusel,Alexandra Tamm,Uwe Kuhn,Dianming Wu,Anna Lena Leifke,Sabine Fiedler,Nina Ruckteschler,Petya Yordanova,Naama Lang-Yona,Mira L. Pöhlker,Jos Lelieveld,Jos Lelieveld,Thorsten Hoffmann,Ulrich Pöschl,Hang Su,Hang Su,Bettina Weber,Yafang Cheng,Yafang Cheng +18 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a wide range of fluxes was observed, ranging from 0.6 to 264'ng'm −2 ˚s −1 ǫ at optimal soil water content (20-30'% of water holding capacity, WHC).
Journal ArticleDOI
The spatial structures of hypolithic communities in the Dry Valleys of East Antarctica
TL;DR: The water-holding capacity of both live and dead moss cells and the associated organic matrix, together with the protective properties of the extracellular polymeric substances, could facilitate the survival and activity of these communities.
Journal ArticleDOI
What is a biocrust? A refined, contemporary definition for a broadening research community
Bettina Weber,Jayne Belnap,Burkhard Büdel,Anita J. Antoninka,Nichole N. Barger,V. Bala Chaudhary,Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi,David J. Eldridge,Akasha M. Faist,Scott Ferrenberg,Caroline A. Havrilla,Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald,O. Malam Issa,Fernando T. Maestre,Sasha C. Reed,Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero,Colin Tucker,Kristina E. Young,Yuanming Zhang,Yunge Zhao,Xiaobing Zhou,Matthew A. Bowker +21 more
TL;DR: In this article , the authors synthesize the literature with the views of new and experienced biocrust researchers, to provide a refined and fully elaborated definition of biocusts, and illustrate the ecological relevance and ecosystem services provided by them.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microbial Diversity in Soil, Sand Dune and Rock Substrates of the Thar Monsoon Desert, India
Subramanya Rao,Yuki Chan,Donnabella C. Bugler-Lacap,Ashish Bhatnagar,Monica Bhatnagar,Stephen B. Pointing +5 more
TL;DR: An important addition to the inventory of desert microbiota, novel insight into the abiotic drivers of community assembly, and the first report of biodiversity in a monsoon desert system are reported.
References
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BookDOI
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