Regresar

Aspects of soil lichen biodiversity and aggregation interact to influence subsurface microbial function

Abstract:

Background and aims: Many previous studies have evaluated aboveground–heterotrophic belowground interactions such as plant-soil feedbacks, plant-mycorrhizal fungi associations or plant-actinorhizal symbioses. However, few studies have used biocrusts, which are specialized soil communities of autotrophic cyanobacteria, mosses, lichens and non-photosynthetic fungi and bacteria that are prevalent in drylands worldwide. These communities largely influence ecosystem functioning, and can be used as a model system for studying above-belowground interactions. In this study, we evaluated how biocrusts affect the functional diversity and biomass of microbial diversities beneath biocrusts.