Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands

• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Other Authors: Weber, Bettina (Editor), Büdel, Burkhard (Editor), Belnap, Jayne (Editor)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer, 2016.
• Series: Ecological Studies, Analysis and Synthesis, 226
• Subjects: Life sciences.; Geobiology.; Conservation biology.; Ecology.; Soil science.; Soil conservation.; Life Sciences.; Conservation Biology/Ecology.; Soil Science & Conservation.; Biogeosciences.

This volume summarizes our current understanding of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which are omnipresent in dryland regions. Since they cover the soil surface, they influence, or even control, all surface exchange processes. Being one of the oldest terrestrial communities, biocrusts comprise a...