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Successional stages of biological soil crusts and their microstructure variability in Shapotou region (China)

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Abstract

In order to investigate succession of biological soil crusts (BSCs) and their microstructure variability, we conducted this work in Shapotou revegetation region at the southeast edge of Tengger Deser. The results showed that BSCs generally succeeded as a pathway of “Algae crusts, algae–lichen crusts, lichen crusts, lichen–moss crusts and moss crusts”. Occasionally mosses directly occurred on algae crusts, and BSCs succeeded from algae crusts to moss crusts. Crust vertical stratification was a common phenomenon, from top to bottom an inorganic layer, algae-dense layer and algae-sparse layer were divided in algae crusts; a thallus layer, rhizoid layer and sub-rhizoid layer in lichen crusts; a “stem-leaf” layer, rhizoid layer and sub-rhizoid layer in moss crusts, respectively. The main crust binding organisms varied from filamental cyanobacteria (dominated by Microcoleus) in algae crusts to lichen rhizoids, free-living cyanobacterial filaments and fungal hyphaes in lichen crusts, and to moss rhizoids and fungal hyphaes in moss crusts. The dominant phototrophic organisms varied from Microcoleus (algae) in algae crusts to Collema (lichens) in lichen crusts, and to Bryum (or Didymodon and Tortula; mosses) in moss crusts. Total phototrophic biomass increased while the free-living algal biomass decreased with the succession of BSCs. In addition, exopolysaccharides and fine particles accumulated in the course of development and succession of BSCs, all of which lead to a gradual increase in crust thickness and porosity, while decrease in the bulk density.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30870470), National Principal Expert Program (2009ZX07106-001-003), National Basic Research Programs of China (No. 2008CB418001) and partly by Wuhan Science and Technology Bureau and Inner Mongolia Planning Committee on high-tech industrialization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430072, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Shubin Lan, Li Wu, Delu Zhang & Chunxiang Hu

  2. Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100039, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Shubin Lan & Li Wu

  3. Department of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Wuhan University of Technology, 430070, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Delu Zhang

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  1. Shubin Lan
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Correspondence to Chunxiang Hu.

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Lan, S., Wu, L., Zhang, D. et al. Successional stages of biological soil crusts and their microstructure variability in Shapotou region (China). Environ Earth Sci 65, 77–88 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1066-0

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