Soil Biota in Banded Landscapes

Eldridge, David J.; Lepage, Michel; Bryannah, Maire A.; Ouedraogo, Paul

doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-0207-0_6

Cited by 11 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…This creates micropore channels, which are known to increase water infiltration (Greene, 1992;Eldridge et al, 2001). These micropore channels are also stabilized by crust organisms when soils are exposed to rainfall or overland flow (McIntyre, 1958;Bond and Harris, 1964;Rogers, 1989;Eldridge et al, 2001;Eldridge, 2003). Therefore, as the numbers of cyanobacterial filaments and anchoring structures increase with decreasing PET and thus biological crust cover, the number of soil aggregates and micropores are expected to increase as well ( Figure 6).…”

Section: Soil Surface Porosity and The Formation Of Micro-and Macroporesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Counteracting the tendency to clog soil pores, biological crust organisms are known to increase aggregation via soil carbon additions. This creates micropore channels, which are known to increase water infiltration (Greene, 1992;Eldridge et al, 2001). These micropore channels are also stabilized by crust organisms when soils are exposed to rainfall or overland flow (McIntyre, 1958;Bond and Harris, 1964;Rogers, 1989;Eldridge et al, 2001;Eldridge, 2003).…”

Section: Soil Surface Porosity and The Formation Of Micro-and Macroporesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In hyperarid areas, this runoff is critical to plant survival; when the crusts in the interband areas are removed, downslope plants die from lack of water and nutrients. As plants die, the banding effect of the vegetation is lost, as is the ability to retain water and nutrients at the local scale (Eldridge et al, 2000;Eldridge et al, 2001).…”

Section: Vascular Plant Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The potential roles of biological soil crusts in dryland hydrologic cycles

Belnap

2006

Hydrological Processes

589

491

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Abstract:Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are the dominant living cover in many drylands of the world. They possess many features that can influence different aspects of local hydrologic cycles, including soil porosity, absorptivity, roughness, aggregate stability, texture, pore formation, and water retention. The influence of biological soil crusts on these factors depends on their internal and external structure, which varies with climate, soil, and disturbance history. This paper presents the different types of biological soil crusts, discusses how crust type likely influences various aspects of the hydrologic cycle, and reviews what is known and not known about the influence of biological crusts on sediment production and water infiltration versus runoff in various drylands around the world. Most studies examining the effect of biological soil crusts on local hydrology are done by comparing undisturbed sites with those recently disturbed by the researchers. Unfortunately, this greatly complicates interpretation of the results. Applied disturbances alter many soil features such as soil texture, roughness, aggregate stability, physical crusting, porosity, and bulk density in ways that would not necessarily be the same if crusts were not naturally present. Combined, these studies show little agreement on how biological crusts affect water infiltration or runoff. However, when studies are separated by biological crust type and utilize naturally occurring differences among these types, results indicate that biological crusts in hyperarid regions reduce infiltration and increase runoff, have mixed effects in arid regions, and increase infiltration and reduce runoff in semiarid cool and cold drylands. However, more studies are needed before broad generalizations can be made on how biological crusts affect infiltration and runoff. We especially need studies that control for sub-surface soil features such as bulk density, micro-and macropores, and biological crust structure. Unlike the mixed effects of biological crusts on infiltration and runoff among regions, almost all studies show that biological crusts reduce sediment production, regardless of crust or dryland type. Published in

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Section: Soil Surface Porosity and The Formation Of Micro-and Macroporesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Soil Surface Porosity and The Formation Of Micro-and Macroporesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vascular Plant Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The potential roles of biological soil crusts in dryland hydrologic cycles

Belnap

2006

Hydrological Processes

589

491

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“…Runoff and erosion dynamics vary between vegetated patches and inter-patches (areas with low ground cover) and are controlled mainly by soil surface condition, particularly the nature of the surface crust and the amount and type of vegetative cover (Greene et al, 1994). The low-cover matrix or interpatch area, is dominated by bare ground, although annual herbs, perennial grasses, woody plants or biological crusts are often present (Aguiar and Sala, 1999;Eldridge et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil hydrological and erosional responses in patches and inter-patches in vegetation states in semi-arid Australia

et al. 2011

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“…When two communities are incompatible from an ecological point of view, the passage from one to another can be described as a two-phase, fractal assemblage of non-miscible systems, involving the interplay between vegetation and soil organisms as the underlying mechanism (Ponge et al, 1998). Examples of some more in-depth studies include savanna/forest and heath/forest boundaries (Bernier & Ponge, 1994 ;Eldridge et al, 2001).…”

Section: The Bubble Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergent properties from organisms to ecosystems: towards a realistic approach

Ponge¹

2005

Biological Reviews

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More realistic approaches are needed to understand the complexity of ecological systems. Emergent properties of real systems can be used as a basis for a new, neither reductionist nor holistic, approach. Three systems, termed here BUBBLEs, WAVEs and CRYSTALs, have been identified as exhibiting emergent properties. They are non-hierarchical assemblages of individual components, with amplification and connectedness being two main principles that govern their build-up, maintenance and mutual relationships. Examples from various fields of biological and ecological science are referred to, ranging from individual organisms to landscapes.

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Soil Biota in Banded Landscapes

Cited by 11 publications

References 54 publications

The potential roles of biological soil crusts in dryland hydrologic cycles

The potential roles of biological soil crusts in dryland hydrologic cycles

Soil hydrological and erosional responses in patches and inter-patches in vegetation states in semi-arid Australia

Emergent properties from organisms to ecosystems: towards a realistic approach

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