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Biocrusts enhance soil fertility and Bromus tectorum growth, and interact with warming to influence germination

Plant and Soil volume 429, pages 77–90 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Background and aims

Biocrusts are communities of cyanobacteria, mosses, and/or lichens found in drylands worldwide. Biocrusts are proposed to enhance soil fertility and productivity, but simultaneously act as a barrier to the invasive grass, Bromus tectorum, in western North America. Both biocrusts and B. tectorum are sensitive to climate change drivers, yet how their responses might interact to affect dryland ecosystems is unclear.

Methods

Using mesocosms with bare soil versus biocrust cover, we germinated B. tectorum seeds collected from warmed, warmed + watered, and ambient temperature plots within a long-term climate change experiment on the Colorado Plateau, USA. We characterized biocrust influences on soil fertility and grass germination, morphology, and chemistry.

Results

Biocrusts increased soil fertility and B. tectorum biomass, specific leaf area (SLA), and root:shoot ratios. Germination rates were unaffected by mesocosm cover-type. Biocrusts delayed germination timing while also interacting with the warmed treatment to advance, and with the warmed + watered treatment to delay germination.

Conclusions

Biocrusts promoted B. tectorum growth, likely through positive influence on soil fertility which was elevated in biocrust mesocosms, and interacted with seed treatment-provenance to affect germination. Understanding how anticipated losses of biocrusts will affect invasion dynamics will require further investigation of how plant plasticity/adaptation to specific climate drivers interact with soil and biocrust properties.

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Acknowledgements

Our manuscript was improved by comments from two anonymous reviewers, R. Mann, and the editors. We thank Ed Grote and Robin Reibold for logistical support throughout this experiment. This work was supported by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (award DESC-0008168) and by the U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystems Mission Area. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    Scott Ferrenberg

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT, 84532, USA

    Scott Ferrenberg, Armin Howell & Sasha C. Reed

  3. Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    Akasha M. Faist

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  1. Scott Ferrenberg
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  2. Akasha M. Faist
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  4. Sasha C. Reed
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Correspondence to Scott Ferrenberg.

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Responsible Editor: Matthew A. Bowker

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Ferrenberg, S., Faist, A.M., Howell, A. et al. Biocrusts enhance soil fertility and Bromus tectorum growth, and interact with warming to influence germination. Plant Soil 429, 77–90 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3525-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3525-1

Keywords

  • Biocrusts
  • Bromus tectorum
  • Cheatgrass
  • Drylands
  • Nitrogen
  • Phenotypic plasticity
  • Provenance
  • Soil fertility