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Biological Soil Crusts from Coastal Dunes at the Baltic Sea: Cyanobacterial and Algal Biodiversity and Related Soil Properties

  • Soil Microbiology
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Abstract

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are known as “ecosystem-engineers” that have important, multifunctional ecological roles in primary production, in nutrient and hydrological cycles, and in stabilization of soils. These communities, however, are almost unstudied in coastal dunes of the temperate zone. Hence, for the first time, the biodiversity of cyanobacterial and algal dominated BSCs collected in five dunes from the southern Baltic Sea coast on the islands Rügen and Usedom (Germany) was investigated in connection with physicochemical soil parameters. The species composition of cyanobacteria and algae was identified with direct determination of crust subsamples, cultural methods, and diatom slides. To investigate the influence of soil properties on species composition, the texture, pH, electrical conductivity, carbonate content, total contents of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the bioavailable phosphorus-fraction (PO4 3−) were analyzed in adjacent BSC-free surface soils at each study site. The data indicate that BSCs in coastal dunes of the southern Baltic Sea represent an ecologically important vegetation form with a surprisingly high site-specific diversity of 19 cyanobacteria, 51 non-diatom algae, and 55 diatoms. All dominant species of the genera Coleofasciculus, Lyngbya, Microcoleus, Nostoc, Hydrocoryne, Leptolyngbya, Klebsormidium, and Lobochlamys are typical aero-terrestrial cyanobacteria and algae, respectively. This first study of coastal sand dunes in the Baltic region provides compelling evidence that here the BSCs were dominated by cyanobacteria, algae, or a mixture of both. Among the physicochemical soil properties, the total phosphorus content of the BSC-free sand was the only factor that significantly influenced the cyanobacterial and algal community structure of BSCs in coastal dunes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Elena Heilmann, Dr. Dana Zimmer, and Britta Balz (Soil Science, University of Rostock, Germany) for their technical support during soil analyses as well as Dr. Anastasia Kryvenda and Natalya Rybalka (University of Göttingen, Germany) for help in identification of some Xanthophyceae. The work has been partly funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Priority Program 1374 “Infrastructure-Biodiversity-Exploratories” (Project Crustfunction KA899/28-1) and the Leibniz Science Campus Phosphorus Research Rostock. T.M. thanks the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for financial support (Georg-Forster research fellowship at the University of Rostock).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Sciences, Applied Ecology and Phycology, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3, 18059, Rostock, Germany

    Karoline Schulz & Ulf Karsten

  2. M.H. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Tereschenkivska St. 2, Kyiv, UA-01001, Ukraine

    Tatiana Mikhailyuk

  3. Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Botany and Botanical Garden, University of Rostock, Wismarsche Str. 8, 18051, Rostock, Germany

    Mirko Dreßler

  4. Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Soil Science, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18051, Rostock, Germany

    Peter Leinweber

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  1. Karoline Schulz
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Correspondence to Karoline Schulz.

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Schulz, K., Mikhailyuk, T., Dreßler, M. et al. Biological Soil Crusts from Coastal Dunes at the Baltic Sea: Cyanobacterial and Algal Biodiversity and Related Soil Properties. Microb Ecol 71, 178–193 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-015-0691-7

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