Spatial carbon and nitrogen distribution and organic matter characteristics of biological soil crusts in the Negev desert (Israel) along a rainfall gradient

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 18-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Drahorad ◽  
P. Felix-Henningsen ◽  
K.-U. Eckhardt ◽  
P. Leinweber
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Rainfall Gradient ◽  
Nitrogen Distribution ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Crusts

scholarly journals Biological Soil Crusts as Modern Analogs for the Archean Continental Biosphere: Insights from Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes

Astrobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 815-819
Author(s):  
Christophe Thomazo ◽  
Estelle Couradeau ◽  
Anna Giraldo-Silva ◽  
Johanna Marin-Carbonne ◽  
Arnaud Brayard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Crusts

scholarly journals Quantifying Mechanistic Detachment Parameters Due to Humic Acids in Biological Soil Crusts

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1180
Author(s):  
Atheer A. Abbood ◽  
Abdul-Sahib T. Al-Madhhachi
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Humic Acid ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Soil Erodibility ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Detachment Rate

Humic acid (HA) is a material that could be used to decrease erosion and improve soil structure. It is also known that biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have a major role in soil stabilization, but the mechanism is not well understood in the presence of HA, especially with mechanistic soil detachment rate parameters (b0 and b1) of the Wilson model, where b0 is the dimensional soil detachment parameter and b1 is the dimensional soil threshold parameter. Therefore, this study intends to (1) investigate the effect of different humic acid (HA) concentrations (0%, 4%, and 8%) on mechanistic soil detachment rate parameters (b0 and b1,) in the Tigris Riversides of the Gheraiat region, Baghdad City, Iraq, of the crusted versus uncrusted soils using a small scale model of the jet erosion tests (mini-JET) at different curing periods (1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks), and (2) examine the impact of HA on b0 and b1 parameters versus some soil characteristics, such as electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, and soil organic matter for uncrusted and crusted soils. Thirty-six undisturbed soil specimens (18 for crusted soils and 18 for uncrusted soils) were acquired from the Tigris Riverbank. On these specimens, the mini-JET was used to determine the mechanistic cohesive soil erodibility parameters b0 and b1. The results showed that the value of b0 decreased up to 60% with an increase in curing times for crusted soils until they reached their optimum values at 2 weeks. There was no consistent pattern for b1 at different curing times. As the concentration of HA increased, the value of b0 decreased up to 86% and 99% for crusted and uncrusted soils, respectively. HA significantly improved electrical conductivity, exchange capacity, and organic matter in the soil and reduced soil erodibility. This study provides the benefits of adding HA to the soils as a soil stabilizer using a low-cost technique, which is the JET instrument.

scholarly journals Multifaceted diversity traits of crucial microbial groups in biological soil crusts promote soil multifunctionality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Li ◽  
Youxin Chen ◽  
Gongliang Yu ◽  
Federico Rossi ◽  
Da Huo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Shannon Index ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Diversity Pattern ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Diversity Effect ◽  
Microbial Groups ◽  
Related Trait

AbstractsMicrobial diversity is one of the most important drivers on ecosystem to maintain the simultaneous performance of functions (multifunctionality, MF) under climatic oscillation. However, existing studies typically consider taxonomic richness or Shannon index at the community level in which relations between diversity and functioning are not highly consistent. To disentangle the underlying linkages in real-world ecosystems, we conducted field investigation on biological soil crusts of Tibetan Plateau and evaluated multiple diversity facets (i.e., richness, evenness, and phylogeny-related trait dissimilarity) of carbon- and nitrogen-fixing functional groups (FGs). Seven crucial variables of soil functioning were also identified to calculate MF. We found that the integrated index, invoking multiple diversity components, was a stronger predictor on MF than richness. Moreover, the divergent performance of different diversity facets determined the idiosyncratic diversity effect of each FG on the MF. Namely, richness was the dominant factor for diazotrophs to maximize MF, whereas phylogenetic dissimilarity was the most important one for phototrophs. The heterogeneity among the focal FGs derived from the significant differentiation of the extent of multifunctional redundancy. Collectively, we speculated that the multifaceted diversity pattern depicts the response ability of crucial FGs by which biocrusts stabilize MF under environmental perturbation. Taken together, our results provided a perspective to bridge the gap between taxonomic and trait-based approaches for elucidating the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship, and could ultimately help to boost the practices of dryland management against global change.

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.

Regulation of carbon and nitrogen exchange rates in biological soil crusts by intrinsic and land use factors in the Sahel area

2014 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Bertrand ◽  
Fiona Ehrhardt ◽  
Gonzague Alavoine ◽  
Catherine Joulian ◽  
Oumarou Malam Issa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Nitrogen Exchange ◽  
Use Factors
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