Efectos y respuestas de la costra biológica del suelo en ecosistemas áridos: avances recientes a nivel de especie

Abstract

Concostrina-Zubiri, L., Martínez, I., Huber-Sannwald, E., Escudero, A. 2013. Biological Soil Crust effects and responses in arid ecosystems: recent advances at the species level. Ecosistemas 22(3):95-000. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2013.22-3.13.

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) constitute a complex component of the ecosystem formed by different organisms (lichens, mosses, liverworts, cyanobacteria, fungi, algae) associated with soil surface. These communities are present in a wide variety of ecosystems; however, their abundance is generally higher in arid environments with sparse vegetation cover. In these ecosystems, BSCs greatly contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Due to technical difficulties in species identification, most studies on BSCs have been carried out at community and morphotype levels. These studies have emphasized the potential role of BSCs in defining ecosystem structure and functioning by: interacting with topsoil layers and other soil organisms, participating in carbon and nitrogen fixation, and also in hydrological and nutrient cycling. Notwithstanding, recent advances in our knowledge about BSCs show substantial and interesting differences in the ecology and functional roles of BSC species, with marked implications in the management and conservation of these communities and their ecosystems. Particularly, it has been observed that BSC presence, abundance and frequency respond differently to diverse environmental factors (climatic variables, soil type, presence of vascular plants, and grazing disturbance - natural recovery) at the species level, and also do BSC effects on topsoil properties.