Reply to Anonymous Reviewer #1

Abstract

This article is a non-peer reviewed preprint published at EarthArXiv Highlights/significance:  Tafoni (honeycomb) weathering patterns were observed at similar frequency and magnitude in hard lime and dolomitic rocks originating from arid and hyperarid environments, respectively, despite different lithologies and climate.  In drylands, rock surfaces are colonised by an epilithic microbial community, dominated by bacteria that form a biological rock crusts.  The microbial communities on the hard lime and dolomitic rocks were dominated by members of the phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria that are typical to drylands.  The two BRC communities were nevertheless distinct from each other, but also from the surrounding soil and dust, showing the habitat filtering effect of the rock surfaces.  Microbial and geological tools applied in this study suggest that in drylands biological rock crusts mitigate rock weathering processes by forming an evaporation barrier.