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Biotic and abiotic effects on biocrust cover vary with microsite along an extensive aridity gradient

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Abstract

Aims

Biocrusts are globally distributed and important for sustaining critical ecosystem functions. Little is known about their continental drivers and how smaller-scale microsite differences might affect biocrusts along aridity gradients. This limits our ability to manage biocrusts effectively under drier climates.

Methods

We collected data on biocrust cover, biotic (plants, litter, grazing intensity) and abiotic (soil texture, soil stability and integrity) attributes from four microsites (trees, shrubs, grasses, open) at 150 sites along an extensive aridity gradient in eastern Australia.

Results

At the sub-continental scale, average biocrust cover increased with declining litter cover, and crust cover became more variable with increasing aridity. Biocrust cover was greatest in open microsites and least under trees, and differences were related to the effects of soil texture, vegetation and grazing intensity, which either increased or declined with increasing aridity.

Conclusions

Our study reveals that biotic and abiotic effects on biocrust cover vary at different spatial scales along an aridity gradient. Predicted increases in aridity in eastern Australia will likely enhance biocrust cover whereas microsite-level effects are likely to be driven by land management actions such as vegetation removal and overgrazing.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Samantha Travers for assistance with field work and language revision and Alan Kwok for assistance with field work. We appreciate the excellent suggestions made by Dr. Eva Stricker. This study was supported by Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment & The Ecological Society of Australia and Australian Wildlife Society. Jingyi Ding was supported in part by the China Scholarship Council (No. 201706040073).

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  1. Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Jingyi Ding & David J. Eldridge

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  1. Jingyi Ding
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Correspondence to Jingyi Ding.

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Ding, J., Eldridge, D.J. Biotic and abiotic effects on biocrust cover vary with microsite along an extensive aridity gradient. Plant Soil 450, 429–441 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04517-0

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