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Soil Loss and Runoff in Semiarid Ecosystems: A Complex Interaction Between Biological Soil Crusts, Micro-topography, and Hydrological Drivers

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Abstract

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) cover non-vegetated areas in most arid and semiarid ecosystems. BSCs play a crucial role in the redistribution of water and sediments and, ultimately, in the maintenance of ecosystem function. The effects of BSCs on water infiltration are complex. BSCs increase porosity and micro-topography, thus enhancing infiltration, but, at the same time, they can increase runoff by the secretion of hydrophobic compounds and clogging of soil pores upon wetting. BSCs confer stability on soil surfaces, reducing soil detachment locally; however, they can also increase runoff, which may increase sediment yield. Although the key role of BSCs in controlling infiltration–runoff and erosion is commonly accepted, conflicting evidence has been reported concerning the influence of BSCs on runoff generation. Very little is known about the relative importance of different BSC features such as cover, composition, roughness, or water repellency, and the interactions of these attributes in runoff and erosion. Because BSC characteristics can affect water flows and erosion both directly and indirectly, we examined the direct and indirect effects of different BSC features on runoff and erosion in a semiarid ecosystem under conditions of natural rainfall. We built structural equation models to determine the relative importance of BSC cover and type and their derived surface attributes controlling runoff and soil erosion. Our results show that the hydrological response of BSCs varies depending on rainfall properties, which, in turn, determine the process governing overland flow generation. During intense rainfalls, runoff is controlled not only by rainfall intensity but also by BSC cover, which exerts a strong direct and indirect influence on infiltration and surface hydrophobicity. Surface hydrophobicity was especially high for lichen BSCs, thus masking the positive effect of lichen crust on infiltration, and explaining the lower infiltration rates recorded on lichen than on cyanobacterial BSCs. Under low intensity, rainfall volume exerts a stronger effect than rainfall intensity, and BSC features play a secondary role in runoff generation, reducing runoff through their effect on surface micro-topography. Under these conditions, lichen BSCs presented higher infiltration rates than cyanobacterial BSCs. Our results highlight the significant protective effect against erosion exerted by BSCs at the plot scale, enhancing surface stability and reducing sediment yield in both high- and low-magnitude rainfall events.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by several research projects: COSTRAS (RNM 3614), funded by the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa (Junta de Andalucía) including European Union of Regional Development Funds, ERDF funds; BACARCOS (CGL2011-29429) funded by Spanish national Plan for Research, Development and Innovation and including European Union of Regional Development Funds and ISLAS (CGL2009-13190-C03-01). The authors would like to thank Alfredo Durán and Ivan Ortiz for their field work assistance. The first author also wants to thank the support from Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa (Junta de Andalucía) for a PhD fellowship and for the mobility support. The property owner of El Cautivo, the Viciana family, is specially thanked for grating permissions to use their land as a scientific experimental site. The Subject-Matter Editor, Jose Paruelo, and Giora Kidron and the other anonymous reviewer are also thanked for their constructive suggestions that have substantially improved the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano s/n, 04120, Almería, Spain

    Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero, Yolanda Cantón & Sonia Chamizo

  2. Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain

    Roberto Lázaro

  3. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, c/Tulipán s/n, Madrid, Spain

    Adrián Escudero

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  1. Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero
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  2. Yolanda Cantón
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  4. Roberto Lázaro
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  5. Adrián Escudero
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Correspondence to Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero.

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Yolanda Cantón and Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero: conceived or designed study; Emilio Rodíguez-Caballero, Yolanda Cantón, Sonia Chamizo, Roberto Lazaro, and Adrian Escudero: performed research; Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero, Sonia Chamizo, and Adrian Escudero: analyzed data; Adrian Escudero and Roberto Lazaro: contributed new methods or models; and Emilio Rodriguez and Yolanda Canton: wrote the paper.

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Rodríguez-Caballero, E., Cantón, Y., Chamizo, S. et al. Soil Loss and Runoff in Semiarid Ecosystems: A Complex Interaction Between Biological Soil Crusts, Micro-topography, and Hydrological Drivers. Ecosystems 16, 529–546 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9626-z

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