scholarly journals Biological soil crusts on initial soils: organic carbon dynamics and chemistry under temperate climatic conditions

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 851-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Dümig ◽  
M. Veste ◽  
F. Hagedorn ◽  
T. Fischer ◽  
P. Lange ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Sand Dune ◽  
Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽  
Water Solubility ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Natural Sand ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Northeastern Germany

Abstract. Numerous studies have been carried out on the community structure and diversity of biological soil crusts (BSCs) as well as their important functions on ecosystem processes. However, the amount of BSC-derived organic carbon (OC) input into soils and its chemical composition under natural conditions has rarely been investigated. In this study, different development stages of algae- and moss-dominated BSCs were investigated on a~natural (<17 yr old BSCs) and experimental sand dune (<4 yr old BSCs) in northeastern Germany. We determined the OC accumulation in BSC-layers and the BSC-derived OC input into the underlying substrates for bulk materials and fractions <63 μm. The chemical composition of OC was characterized by applying solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy and analysis of the carbohydrate-C signature.14C contents were used to assess the origin and dynamic of OC in BSCs and underlying substrates. Our results indicated a rapid BSC establishment and development from algae- to moss-dominated BSCs within only 4 yr under this temperate climate. The distribution of BSC types was presumably controlled by the surface stability according to the position in the slope. We found no evidence that soil properties influenced the BSC distribution on both sand dunes. 14C contents clearly indicated the existence of two OC pools in BSCs and substrates, recent BSC-derived OC and lignite-derived "old" OC (biologically refractory). The input of recent BSC-derived OC strongly decreased the mean residence time of total OC. The downward translocation of OC into the underlying substrates was only found for moss-dominated BSCs at the natural sand dune which may accelerate soil formation at these spots. BSC-derived OC mainly comprised O-alkyl C (carbohydrate-C) and to a lesser extent also alkyl C and N-alkyl C in varying compositions. Accumulation of alkyl C was only detected in BSCs at the experimental dune which may induce a~lower water solubility of BSC-derived extracellular polymeric substances when compared to BSCs at the natural sand dune indicating that hydrological effects of BSCs on soils depend on the chemical composition of the extracellular polymeric substances.

scholarly journals Coverage and Rainfall Response of Biological Soil Crusts Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-2 Data in a Central European Temperate Dry Acid Grassland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 3093
Author(s):  
Jakob Rieser ◽  
Maik Veste ◽  
Michael Thiel ◽  
Sarah Schönbrodt-Stitt
Keyword(s):  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Higher Plant ◽  
Detection Analysis ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Daily Precipitation Data ◽  
Northeastern Germany ◽  
Sentinel 2

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are thin microbiological vegetation layers that naturally develop in unfavorable higher plant conditions (i.e., low precipitation rates and high temperatures) in global drylands. They consist of poikilohydric organisms capable of adjusting their metabolic activities depending on the water availability. However, they, and with them, their ecosystem functions, are endangered by climate change and land-use intensification. Remote sensing (RS)-based studies estimated the BSC cover in global drylands through various multispectral indices, and few of them correlated the BSCs’ activity response to rainfall. However, the allocation of BSCs is not limited to drylands only as there are areas beyond where smaller patches have developed under intense human impact and frequent disturbance. Yet, those areas were not addressed in RS-based studies, raising the question of whether the methods developed in extensive drylands can be transferred easily. Our temperate climate study area, the ‘Lieberoser Heide’ in northeastern Germany, is home to the country’s largest BSC-covered area. We applied a Random Forest (RF) classification model incorporating multispectral Sentinel-2 (S2) data, indices derived from them, and topographic information to spatiotemporally map the BSC cover for the first time in Central Europe. We further monitored the BSC response to rainfall events over a period of around five years (June 2015 to end of December 2020). Therefore, we combined datasets of gridded NDVI as a measure of photosynthetic activity with daily precipitation data and conducted a change detection analysis. With an overall accuracy of 98.9%, our classification proved satisfactory. Detected changes in BSC activity between dry and wet conditions were found to be significant. Our study emphasizes a high transferability of established methods from extensive drylands to BSC-covered areas in the temperate climate. Therefore, we consider our study to provide essential impulses so that RS-based biocrust mapping in the future will be applied beyond the global drylands.

scholarly journals Infiltration and water retention of biological soil crusts on reclaimed soils of former open-cast lignite mining sites in Brandenburg, north-east Germany

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Gypser ◽  
Maik Veste ◽  
Thomas Fischer ◽  
Philipp Lange
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Water Holding Capacity ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Lignite Mining ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Water Holding ◽  
Open Cast

AbstractInvestigations were done on two former open-cast lignite mining sites under reclamation, an artificial sand dune in Welzow Süd, and a forest plantation in Schlabendorf Süd (Brandenburg, Germany). The aim was to associate the topsoil hydrological characteristics of green algae dominated as well as moss and soil lichen dominated biological soil crusts during crustal succession with their water retention and the repellency index on sandy soils under temperate climate and different reliefs.The investigation of the repellency index showed on the one hand an increase due to the cross-linking of sand particles by green algae which resulted in clogging of pores. On the other hand, the occurrence of moss plants led to a decrease of the repellency index due to absorption caused by bryophytes. The determination of the water retention curves showed an increase of the water holding capacity, especially in conjunction with the growth of green algae layer. The pore-related van Genuchten parameter indicate a clay-like behaviour of the developed soil crusts. Because of the inhomogeneous distribution of lichens and mosses as well as the varying thickness of green algae layers, the water retention differed between the study sites and between samples of similar developmental stages. However, similar tendencies of water retention and water repellency related to the soil crust formation were observed.Biological soil crusts should be considered after disturbances in the context of reclamation measures, because the initial development of green algae biocrusts lead to an increasing repellency index, while the occurrence of mosses and a gain in organic matter enhance the water holding capacity. Thus, the succession of biocrusts and their small-scale succession promote the development of soil and ecosystem.

Pore characteristics in biological soil crusts are independent of extracellular polymeric substances

2016 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 294-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent J.M.N.L. Felde ◽  
Federico Rossi ◽  
Claudia Colesie ◽  
Daniel Uteau-Puschmann ◽  
Rainer Horn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Pore Characteristics ◽  
Soil Crusts

The Effect of Biological Soil Crusts on Throughput of Rainwater and N into Lake Michigan Sand Dune Soils

2005 ◽  
Vol 278 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 235-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel K. Thiet ◽  
R. E. J. Boerner ◽  
Moria Nagy ◽  
Richard Jardine
Keyword(s):  
Sand Dune ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Soil Crusts

scholarly journals Dew formation on the surface of biological soil crusts in central European sand ecosystems

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4621-4628 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Fischer ◽  
M. Veste ◽  
O. Bens ◽  
R. F. Hüttl
Keyword(s):  
Water Retention ◽  
Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Field Campaign ◽  
Vapor Flux ◽  
Sandy Substrate ◽  
Soil Crusts ◽  
Dew Formation

Abstract. Dew formation was investigated in three developmental stages of biological soil crusts (BSC), which were collected along a catena of an inland dune and in the initial substrate. The Penman equation, which was developed for saturated surfaces, was modified for unsaturated surfaces and used for prediction of dewfall rates. The levels of surface saturation required for this approach were predicted using the water retention functions and the thicknesses of the BSCs. During a first field campaign (2–3 August 2011), dewfall increased from 0.042 kg m−2 for the initial sandy substrate to 0.058, 0.143 and 0.178 kg m−2 for crusts 1 to 3, respectively. During a second field campaign (17–18 August 2011), where dew formation was recorded in 1.5 to 2.75-h intervals after installation at 21:30 CEST, dewfall increased from 0.011 kg m−2 for the initial sandy substrate to 0.013, 0.028 and 0.055 kg m−2 for crusts 1 to 3, respectively. Dewfall rates remained on low levels for the substrate and for crust 1, and decreased overnight for crusts 2 and 3 (with crust 3 > crust 2 > crust 1 throughout the campaign). Dew formation was well reflected by the model response. The suggested mechanism of dew formation involves a delay in water saturation in near-surface soil pores and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) where the crusts were thicker and where the water capacity was high, resulting in elevated vapor flux towards the surface. The results also indicate that the amount of dewfall was too low to saturate the BSCs and to observe water flow into deeper soil. Analysis of the soil water retention curves revealed that, despite the sandy mineral matrix, moist crusts clogged by swollen EPS pores exhibited a clay-like behavior. It is hypothesized that BSCs gain double benefit from suppressing their competitors by runoff generation and from improving their water supply by dew collection. Despite higher amounts of dew, the water availability to the crust community decreases with crust development, which may be compensated by ecophysiological adaptation of crust organisms, and which may further suppress higher vegetation or mosses.

Microbial extracellular polymeric substances improve water retention in dryland biological soil crusts

2018 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 67-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Adessi ◽  
Ricardo Cruz de Carvalho ◽  
Roberto De Philippis ◽  
Cristina Branquinho ◽  
Jorge Marques da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Water Retention ◽  
Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽  
Biological Soil Crusts ◽  
Soil Crusts
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