Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Natural Recovery of Biological Soil Crusts After Disturbance

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 226))

Abstract

Natural recovery of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) is influenced by a number of different parameters, such as climate, soil conditions, the severity of disturbance, and the timing of disturbance relative to the climatic conditions. In recent studies, it has been shown that recovery is often not linear, but a highly dynamic process directly influenced by nonlinear external parameters as extraordinary climatic conditions (e.g., particularly dry or wet year). Natural recovery often follows a general succession pattern, starting out with cyanobacteria and algae, which is then followed by lichens and bryophytes at a later stage. However, this general sequence can be altered by parameters like dust deposition, fire effects, and special climatic conditions as in fog deserts and under mesic climates. Recent studies have proposed that under favorable, stable soil conditions, the initial soil-stabilizing cyanobacteria-dominated succession stages may be omitted and moss-dominated biocrusts can develop in the initial phases of biocrust development. During natural recovery of biocrusts, soil properties change, e.g., soil nutrient and organic matter contents increase. Also, silt and clay contents of encrusted soils increase with biocrust maturity, which may be caused by two mechanisms, i.e., entrapment of fine soil particles by biocrusts and the new formation of smaller particles by weathering of the existing substrate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aanderud ZT, Blair JR (2013) Evaluating post-fire recovery of biocrusts and desert ecosystem services. In: 12th Biennial conference for research on the Colorado Plateau, Flagstaff, AZ

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson DC, Harper KT, Rushforth SR (1982) Recovery of cryptogamic soil crusts from grazing on Utah Winter ranges. J Range Manage 35:355–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J (1993) Recovery rates of cryptobiotic crusts - inoculant use and assessment methods. Great Basin Nat 53:89–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Eldridge D (2003) Disturbance and recovery of biological soil crusts. In: Belnap J, Lange OL (eds) Biological soil crusts: structure, function, and management. Springer, Berlin, pp 364–383

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Lange OL (2003) Biological soil crusts: structure, function, and management, vol 150. Springer, Heidelberg

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Warren SD (1998) Measuring restoration success: a lesson from Patton’s tank tracks. Ecol Bull 79:33

    Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Warren SD (2002) Patton’s tracks in the Mojave Desert, USA: an ecological legacy. Arid Land Res Manage 16:245–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Phillips SL, Troxler T (2006) Soil lichen and moss cover and species richness can be highly dynamic: the effects of invasion by the annual exotic grass Bromus tectorum, precipitation, and temperature on biological soil crusts in SE Utah. Appl Soil Ecol 32:63–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Phillips SL, Smith SD (2007) Dynamics of cover, UV-protective pigments, and quantum yield in biological soil crust communities of an undisturbed Mojave Desert shrubland. Flora 202:674–686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Phillips SL, Witwicki DL, Miller ME (2008) Visually assessing the level of development and soil surface stability of cyanobacterially dominated biological soil crusts. J Arid Environ 72(7):1257–1264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowker MA, Belnap J, Rosentreter R, Graham B (2004) Wildfire-resistant biological soil crusts and fire-induced loss of soil stability in Palouse prairies, USA. Appl Soil Ecol 26:41–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowker MA, Johnson NC, Belnap J, Koch GW (2008) Short term measurement of change in aridland lichen cover using repeat photography and fatty acids. J Arid Environ 72:869–878

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs AL, Morgan JW (2012) Post-cultivation recovery of biological soil crusts in semi-arid native grasslands, southern Australia. J Arid Environ 77:84–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Büdel B, Darienko T, Deutschewitz K, Dojani S, Friedl T, Mohr K, Salisch M, Reisser W, Weber B (2009) Southern African biological soil crusts are ubiquitous and highly diverse in drylands, being restricted by rainfall frequency. Microb Ecol 57(2):229–247

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Büdel B, Colesie C, Green TGA, Grube M, Lázaro Suau R, Loewen-Schneider K, Maier S, Peer T, Pintado A, Raggio J, Ruprecht U, Sancho L, Schroeter B, Türk R, Weber B, Wedin M, Westberg M, Williams L, Zheng L (2014) Improved appreciation of the functioning and importance of biological soil crusts in Europe – the Soil Crust International project (SCIN). Biodivers Conserv 23:1639–1658

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Callison DM, Brotherson JD, Bowns JE (1985) The effects of fire on the blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) community of Southwestern Utah. J Range Manage 38:535–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castillo-Monroy AP, Maestre FT (2011) Biological soil crusts: recent advances in our knowledge of their structure and ecological function. Rev Chil Hist Nat 84:1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castoldi E, Quintana JR, Mata RG, Molina JA (2013) Early post-fire plant succession in slash-pile prescribed burns of a sub-Mediterranean managed forest. Plant Ecol Evol 146:272–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen R, Zhang Y, Li Y, Wei W, Zhang J, Wu N (2009) The variation of morphological features and mineralogical components of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert of Northwestern China. Environ Geol 57(5):1135–1143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole DN (1990) Trampling disturbance and recovery of cryptogamic soil crusts in Grand Canyon National Park. Great Basin Nat 50:321–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Concostrina-Zubiri L, Huber-Sannwald E, Martínez I, Flores Flores JL, Reyes-Agüero JA, Escudero A, Belnap J (2014) Biological soil crusts along disturbance-recovery scenarios: effect of grazing regime on community dynamics. Ecol Appl 24:1863–1877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darby BJ, Neher DA, Belnap J (2007) Soil nematode communities are ecologically more mature beneath late- than early-successional stage biological soil crusts. Appl Soil Ecol 35:203–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dojani S, Büdel B, Deutschewitz K, Weber B (2011) Rapid succession of biological soil crusts after experimental disturbance in the Succulent Karoo, South Africa. Appl Soil Ecol 48:263–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drahorad S, Felix-Henningsen P, Eckhardt KU, Leinweber P (2013) Spatial carbon and nitrogen distribution and organic matter characteristics of biological soil crusts in the Negev desert (Israel) along a rainfall gradient. J Arid Environ 94:18–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eldridge DJ, Ferris JM (1999) Recovery of populations of the soil lichen Psora crenata after disturbance in arid South Australia. Range J 21:194–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer T, Veste M, Wiehe W, Lange P (2010) Water repellency and pore clogging at early successional stages of microbiotic crusts on inland dunes, Brandenburg, NE Germany. Catena 80:47–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez DA, Aranibar JN, Tabeni S, Villagra PE, Garibotti IA, Atencio A (2012) Biological soil crust recovery after long-term grazing exclusion in the Monte Desert (Argentina). Changes in coverage, spatial distribution, and soil nitrogen. Acta Oecol 38:33–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo YR, Zhao HL, Zuo XA, Drak S, Zhao XY (2008) Biological soil crust development and its topsoil properties in the process of dune stabilization, Inner Mongolia, China. Environ Geol 54(3):653–662

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hardman A, McCune B (2010) Bryoid layer response to soil disturbance by fuel reduction treatments in a dry conifer forest. Bryologist 113:235–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes CV, Flechtner VR (2002) Biological soil crusts in a xeric Florida shrubland : composition, abundance, and spatial heterogeneity of crusts with different disturbance histories. Microb Ecol 43:1–12

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hilty JH, Eldridge DJ, Rosentreter R, Marcia C, Pellant M, Wicklow-Howard MC (2004) Recovery of biological soil crusts following wildfire in Idaho Recovery of biological soil crusts following wildfire in Idaho. Rangeland Ecol Manage 57:89–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu C, Liu Y (2003) Primary succession of algal community structure in desert soil. Acta Bot Sin 45:917–924

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffries DL, Klopatek JM (1987) Effects of grazing on the vegetation of the blackbrush association. J Range Manage 40:390–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia BQ, Zhang HQ, Zhang ZQ, Ci LJ (2003) The study on the physical and chemical characteristics of sand soil crust in the Minqin County, Gansu Province. Acta Ecol Sin 23:1442–1448

    Google Scholar 

  • Jia RL, Li XR, Liu LC, Gao YH, Li XJ (2008) Responses of biological soil crusts to sand burial in a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert, Northern China. Soil Biol Biochem 40:2827–2834

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johansen JR (2003) Impacts of fire on biological soil crusts. In: Belnap J, Lange OL (eds) Biological soil crusts: structure, function and management. Springer, Berlin, pp 385–397

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansen JR, St. Clair LL (1986) Cryptogamic soil crusts: recovery from grazing near Camp Floyd State Park, Utah, USA. Great Basin Nat 46:632–640

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansen JR, St. Clair LL, Webb BL, Nebeker GT (1984) Recovery patterns of cryptogamic soil crusts in desert rangelands following fire disturbance. Bryologist 87:238–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansen JR, Ashley J, Rayburn WR (1993) Effects of rangefire on soil algal crusts in semiarid shrub-steppe of the lower Columbia Basin and their subsequent recovery. Great Basin Nat 53(1):73–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Kade A, Warren SJ (2002) Soil and plant recovery after historic military disturbances in the Sonoran Desert, USA. Arid Land Res Manage 16:231–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karnieli A, Gabai A, Ichoku C, Zaady E, Shachak M (2002) Temporal dynamics of soil and vegetation spectral responses in a semi-arid environment. Int J Remote Sens 23(19):4073–4087

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaštovská K, Elster J, Stibal M, Šantrůčková H (2005) Microbial assemblages in soil microbial succession after glacial retreat in Svalbard (High Arctic). Microb Ecol 50:396–407

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kidron GJ, Vonshak A, Abeliovich A (2008) Recovery rates of microbiotic custs within a dune ecosystem in the Negev desert. Geomorphology 100:444–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidron GJ, Vonshak A, Dor I, Barinova S, Abeliovich A (2010) Properties and spatial distribution of microbiotic crusts in the Negev Desert, Israel. Catena 82:92–101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knelman JE, Schmidt SK, Lynch RC, Darcy JL, Castle SC, Cleveland CC, Nemergut DR (2014) Nutrient addition dramatically accelerates microbial community succession. Plos One 9(7):e102609

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lalley JS, Viles HA (2008) Recovery of lichen-dominated soil crusts in a hyper-arid desert. Biodivers Conserv 17:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lan S, Wu L, Zhang D, Hu C (2012) Successional stages of biological soil crusts and their microstructure variability in Shapotou region (China). Environ Earth Sci 65:77–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langhans TM, Storm C, Schwabe A (2009) Community assembly of biological soil crusts of different successional stages in a temperate sand ecosystem, as assessed by direct determination and enrichment techniques. Microb Ecol 58:394–407

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Langhans TM, Storm C, Schwabe A (2010) Regeneration processes of biological soil crusts, macro-cryptogams and vascular plant species after fine-scale disturbance in a temperate region: recolonization or successional replacement? Flora 205:46–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lázaro R, Cantón Y, Solé-Benet A, Bevan J, Alexander R, Sancho LG, Puigdefábregas J (2008) The influence of competition between lichen colonization and erosion on the evolution of soil surfaces in the Tabernas badlands (SE Spain) and its landscape effects. Geomorphology 102:252–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li XR, Zhou HY, Wang XP, Zhu YG, O’Conner PJ (2003) The effects of sand stabilization and revegetation on cryptogam species diversity and soil fertility in the Tengger Desert, Northern China. Plant Soil 251:237–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Xiao H, Zhang J, Wang X (2004) Long-term ecosystem effects of sand-binding vegetation in the Tengger Desert, Northern China. Restor Ecol 12:376–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li XR, Kong DS, Tan HJ, Wang XP (2007) Changes in soil and vegetation following stabilisation of dunes in the southeastern fringe of the Tengger Desert, China. Plant Soil 300:221–231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li XJ, Li XR, Song WM, Gao YP, Zheng JG, Jia RL (2008) Effects of crust and shrub patches on runoff, sedimentation, and related nutrient (C, N) redistribution in the desertified steppe zone of the Tengger Desert, Northern China. Geomorphology 96:221–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu LC, Li SZ, Duan ZH, Wang T, Zhang ZS, Li XR (2006) Effects of microbiotic crusts on dew deposition in the restored vegetation area at Shapotou, Northwest China. J Hydrol 328:331–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynn RI, Cameron RE (1973) Role of algae in crust formation and nitrogen cycling in desert soils. US/IBM Desert Biome Res. Memo 73-40, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, pp 1–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralles I, Trasar-Cepeda C, Leiros MC, Gil-Sotres F (2013) Labile carbon in biological soil crusts in the Tabernas desert, SE Spain. Soil Biol Biochem 58:1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pan YX, Wang XP, Zhang YF (2010) Dew formation characteristics in a revegetation-stabilized desert ecosystem in Shapotou area, Northern China. J Hydrol 387:265–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan YX, Wang XP, Zhang YF, Hu R (2014) Influence of topography on formation characteristics of hygroscopic and condensate water in Shapotou, Ningxia. Chin J Desert Res 34:118–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Paus SM (1997) Die Erdflechtenvegetation Nordwestdeutschlands und einiger Randgebiete. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 66:1–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Pietrasiak N, Regus JU, Johansen JR, Lam D, Sachs JL, Santiago LS (2013) Biological soil crust community types differ in key ecological functions. Soil Biol Biochem 65:168–171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Read CF, Duncan DH, Vesk PA, Elith J (2011) Surprisingly fast recovery of biological soil crusts following livestock removal in southern Australia. J Veg Sci 22:905–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read CF, Elith J, Vesk PA (2016) Testing a model of biological soil crust succession. J Veg Sci 27:176–186. doi:10.1111/jvs.12332

    Google Scholar 

  • Rychert RC (2002) Assessment of cryptobiotic crust recovery. West N Am Nat 62:223–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas AD, Dougill AJ (2006) Spatial and temporal distribution of cyanobacterial soil crusts in the Kalahari: implications for soil surface properties. Geomorphology 85:17–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian GQ, Bai XL, Xu J, Wang XD (2005) Experimental studies on natural regeneration and artificial cultures of moss crusts on fixed dunes in the Tengger Desert. Acta Phytoecol Sin 29:164–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian G, Bai X, Xu J, Wang X (2006) Experimental studies on the natural restoration and the artificial culture of the moss crusts on fixed dunes in the Tengger Desert, China. Front Biol China 1:13–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veluci RM, Neher DA, Weicht TR (2006) Nitrogen fixation and leaching of biological soil crust communities in mesic temperate soils. Microb Ecol 51:189–196

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang XP, Young MH, Yu Z, Li XR, Zhang ZS (2007) Long-term effects of restoration on soil hydraulic properties in revegetation-stabilized desert ecosystems. Geophys Res Lett 34(24)

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams WJ, Eldridge DJ (2011) Deposition of sand over a cyanobacterial soil crust increases nitrogen bioavailability in a semi-arid woodland. Appl Soil Ecol 49:26–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams AJ, Buck BJ, Beyene MA (2012) Biological soil crusts in the Mojave Desert, USA: micromorphology and pedogenesis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 76(5):1685–1695

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao B, Zhao YG, Wang HF, Wu JY (2014) Natural recovery of moss-dominated biological soil crusts after surface soil removal and their long-term effects on soil water conditions in a semi-arid environment. Catena 120:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yair A, Verrecchia E (2002) The role of the mineral component in surface stabilization processes of a disturbed desert sandy surface. Land Degrad Devel 13:293–306

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeager CM, Kornosky JL, Housman DC, Grote EE, Belnap J, Kuske CR (2004) Diazotrophic community structure and function in two successional stages of biological soil crusts from the Colorado Plateau and Chihuahuan Desert. Appl Environ Microbiol 70:973–983

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zaady E, Karnieli A, Shachack M (2007) Applying a field spectroscopy technique for assessing successional trends of biological soil crusts in a semi-arid environment. J Arid Environ 70:463–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y (2005) The microstructure and formation of biological soil crusts in their early developmental stage. Chin Sci Bull 50:117–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang YM, Chen J, Wang L, Wang XQ, Gu ZH (2007) The spatial distribution patterns of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Northern Xinjiang, China. J Arid Environ 68:599–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Zhang YM, Downing A, Cheng JH, Zhou XB, Zhang BC (2009) The influence of biological soil crusts on dew deposition in Gurbantunggut Desert, Northwestern China. J Hydrol 379:220–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao HL, Guo YR, Zhou RL, Drake S (2010) Biological soil crust and surface soil properties in different vegetation types of Horqin Sand Land, China. Catena 82(2):70–76

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao HL, Guo YR, Zhou RL, Drake S (2011) The effects of plantation development on biological soil crust and topsoil properties in a desert in northern China. Geoderma 160(3–4):367–372

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

MAB gratefully acknowledges the support of the Bureau of Land Management. BW was supported by the Max Planck Society (Nobel Laureate Fellowship) and the German Research Foundation (projects WE2393/2-1 and WE2393/2-2). JB was supported by US Geological Survey’s Ecosystem program. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128, Mainz, Germany

    Bettina Weber

  2. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 E. Pine Knoll Dr., Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA

    Matt Bowker

  3. Department of Biogeography and Bioresource, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi City, Xinjiang, China

    Yuanming Zhang

  4. U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, 2290 S West Resource Blvd, Moab, UT, 84532, USA

    Jayne Belnap

Authors
  1. Bettina Weber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matt Bowker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuanming Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jayne Belnap
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bettina Weber .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Plank Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany

    Bettina Weber

  2. Plant Ecology and Systematics, Department of Biology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Burkhard Büdel

  3. Southwest Biological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Moab, Utah, USA

    Jayne Belnap

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Weber, B., Bowker, M., Zhang, Y., Belnap, J. (2016). Natural Recovery of Biological Soil Crusts After Disturbance. In: Weber, B., Büdel, B., Belnap, J. (eds) Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands. Ecological Studies, vol 226. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30214-0_23

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation