Effects of Biological Soil Crusts on Water Redistribution in the Negev Desert, Israel: a Case Study in Longitudinal Dunes

2001 ◽  
pp. 303-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yair
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Water Redistribution

scholarly journals A Case Study on Fog/Low Stratus Occurrence at Las Lomitas, Atacama Desert (Chile) as a Water Source for Biological Soil Crusts

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 254-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas W. Lehnert ◽  
Boris Thies ◽  
Katja Trachte ◽  
Sebastian Achilles ◽  
Pablo Osses ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Soil Crusts

Cyanobacterial Diversity in Biological Soil Crusts along a Precipitation Gradient, Northwest Negev Desert, Israel

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hagemann ◽  
Manja Henneberg ◽  
Vincent J. M. N. L. Felde ◽  
Sylvie L. Drahorad ◽  
Simon M. Berkowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Precipitation Gradient ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Cyanobacterial Diversity

scholarly journals Cyanobacterial populations in biological soil crusts of the northwest Negev Desert, Israel – effects of local conditions and disturbance

2016 ◽  
pp. fiw228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hagemann ◽  
Manja Henneberg ◽  
Vincent J. M. N. L. Felde ◽  
Simon M. Berkowicz ◽  
Hagai Raanan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Soil Crusts

scholarly journals Biological soil crusts cause subcritical water repellency in a sand dune ecosystem located along a rainfall gradient in the NW Negev desert, Israel

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Keck ◽  
Vincent John Martin Noah Linus Felde ◽  
Sylvie Laureen Drahorad ◽  
Peter Felix-Henningsen
Keyword(s):  
Subcritical Water ◽  
Water Drop ◽  
Water Repellency ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Water Repellent ◽  
Rainfall Gradient ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Water Redistribution ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Wilhelmy Plate Method

AbstractThe biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the NW Negev cause local water redistribution by increasing surface runoff. The effects of pore clogging and swelling of organic and inorganic crust components were intensively investigated in earlier studies. However, the effect of water repellency (WR) was not addressed systematically yet. This study investigates subcritical WR of BSCs in three different study sites in the NW Negev. For this purpose, three common methods to determine soil WR were used: (i) the repellency index (RI) method (ii) the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and (iii) the Wilhelmy plate method (WPM). Furthermore, the potential influence of WR on local water redistribution is discussed and the applied methods are compared. We found the BSC to be subcritically water repellent. The degree of WR may only affect water redistribution on a microscale and has little influence on the ecosystem as a whole. The RI method was clearly the most appropriate to use, whereas the WDPT and the WPM failed to detect subcritical WR.

scholarly journals The CO<sub>2</sub> exchange of biological soil crusts in a semiarid grass-shrubland at the northern transition zone of the Negev desert, Israel

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1969-2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Wilske ◽  
J. Burgheimer ◽  
A. Karnieli ◽  
E. Zaady ◽  
M. O. Andreae ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
Soil Co2 ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Dew Formation ◽  
Rain Season ◽  
Winter Rain

Abstract. Biological soil crusts (BSC) contribute significantly to the soil surface cover in many dryland ecosystems. A mixed type of BSC, which consists of cyanobacteria, mosses and cyanolichens, constitutes more than 60% of ground cover in the semiarid grass-shrub steppe at Sayeret Shaked in the northern Negev Desert, Israel. This study aimed at parameterizing the carbon sink capacity of well-developed BSC in undisturbed steppe systems. Mobile enclosures on permanent soil borne collars were used to investigate BSC-related CO2 fluxes in situ and with natural moisture supply during 10 two-day field campaigns within seven months from fall 2001 to summer 2002. Highest BSC-related CO2 deposition between −11.31 and −17.56 mmol m−2 per 15 h was found with BSC activated from rain and dew during the peak of the winter rain season. Net CO2 deposition by BSC was calculated to compensate 120%, −26%, and less than 3% of the concurrent soil CO2 efflux from November–January, February–May and November–May, respectively. Thus, BSC effectively compensated soil CO2 effluxes when CO2 uptake by vascular vegetation was probably at its low point. Nighttime respiratory emission reduced daily BSC-related CO2 deposition within the period November–January by 11–123% and on average by 27%. The analysis of CO2 fluxes and water inputs from the various sources showed that the bulk of BSC-related CO2 deposition occurs during periods with frequent rain events and subsequent condensation from water accumulated in the upper soil layers. Significant BSC activity on days without detectable atmospheric water supply emphasized the importance of high soil moisture contents as additional water source for soil-dwelling BSC, whereas activity upon dew formation at low soil water contents was not of major importance for BSC-related CO2 deposition. However, dew may still be important in attaining a pre-activated status during the transition from a long "summer" anabiosis towards the first winter rain.

scholarly journals The CO<sub>2</sub> exchange of biological soil crusts in a semiarid grass-shrubland at the northern transition zone of the Negev desert, Israel

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1411-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Wilske ◽  
J. Burgheimer ◽  
A. Karnieli ◽  
E. Zaady ◽  
M. O. Andreae ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
Soil Co2 ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Dew Formation ◽  
Rain Season ◽  
Winter Rain

Abstract. Biological soil crusts (BSC) contribute significantly to the soil surface cover in many dryland ecosystems. A mixed type of BSC, which consists of cyanobacteria, mosses and cyanolichens, constitutes more than 60% of ground cover in the semiarid grass-shrub steppe at Sayeret Shaked in the northern Negev Desert, Israel. This study aimed at parameterizing the carbon sink capacity of well-developed BSC in undisturbed steppe systems. Mobile enclosures on permanent soil borne collars were used to investigate BSC-related CO2 fluxes in situ and with natural moisture supply during 10 two-day field campaigns within seven months from fall 2001 to summer 2002. Highest BSC-related CO2 deposition between –11.31 and –17.56 mmol m−2 per 15 h was found with BSC activated from rain and dew during the peak of the winter rain season. Net CO2 deposition by BSC was calculated to compensate 120%, –26%, and less than 3% of the concurrent soil CO2 efflux from November–January, February–May and November–May, respectively. Thus, BSC effectively compensated soil CO2 effluxes when CO2 uptake by vascular vegetation was probably at its low point. Nighttime respiratory emission reduced daily BSC-related CO2 deposition within the period November–January by 11–123% and on average by 27%. The analysis of CO2 fluxes and water inputs from the various sources showed that the bulk of BSC-related CO2 deposition occurs during periods with frequent rain events and subsequent condensation from water accumulated in the upper soil layers. Significant BSC activity on days without detectable atmospheric water supply emphasized the importance of high soil moisture contents as additional water source for soil-dwelling BSC, whereas activity upon dew formation at low soil water contents was not of major importance for BSC-related CO2 deposition. However, dew may still be important in attaining a pre-activated status during the transition from a long "summer" anabiosis towards the first winter rain.

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