Great Basin Naturalist Great Basin Naturalist

Volume 53 Number 1 Article 1

4-2-1993

Introduction to the symposium on soil crust communities Introduction to the symposium on soil crust communities

Larry L. St. Clair Brigham Young University

Jeffrey R. Johansen John Carroll University, University Heights, Ohio

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Great Basin NaturalistPUBLISHED AT PROVO, UTAH, BY

BRIGHAM YOU:-.JG UNIVERSITY

ISSN 0017-3614

VOLUME .53

Great Basin Naturalist 53(l}, pp. 1-4

31 MAHCH 1993 NO.1

INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMPOSIUM ON SOIL CRUST COMMUNITIES

I d 'f 2Larry L. St. Clair an Jel rey R. Johimsen

ABSTRA(T-Soil crust communities in s€mi;u"id and arid lands around the world have received increasing attention inthe pa"t two decades. A symposium on their ecology was presented at the annual meeting of the American Bryological andLichenological Society held ill 1991 in San Antonio, Texas. An introduction to the topic and an oven'iew of the papersappearing in the proceedings volume are given in this prolq,rue.

KRy words: cryptogamic Cnlsts, microbiotic crusts, microphytic crusts, semiarid ecosystems, algae crt/st, lichell cms'f,moss enist.

In many arid and semiarid regions of theworld the surface soil is consolidated into a thincrust hy microorganisms, lichens, and bryo­phytes. Soil crusts have varying microtopogra­phy. Some are flattened, polygonal, and possessa rough, undulating surface; others arepediceled. All soil crust communities contain amicroflora of cyanobacteria, bacteria, eu-,karyotic algae, and fungi. Well-developed soilcrusts also contain lichens and/or bryophytes.

Soil crusts of biotic origin have been knownunder a variety of names. Raincrust was one ofthe first tenns used (Fletcher and Martin 1948)but has been abandoned because of confusionwith raincrusts of nonbiotic origin. Many re­searchers deSignate the crust by its dominantlife form, i.e., algal crust, lichen crust, or mosscrust. Cryptogamic crust, a tenn coined by Har­per (Kleiner and Harper 1972), has been themost widely used term during the last 20 years.Some researchers have been dissatisfied \viththe term cryptogamic crust because cryptogamsare plants without seeds, a group that includes

ferns and fern allies (not components of soilcrusts) and excludes cyanobacteria and fungi(not plants). Microfloral crust (Loope and Gif­ford 1972), microphytic crust (West 1990), mi­crobiotic crust, and cryptobiotic crust (Belnap1993) are other epithets that have been pro­posed. Cryptogamic crust will likely persist forsome time because ofits wide usage and histori­cal precedence. Of the more recent terms, wefeel that microbiotic crust is the most accurateand recommend its usage.

Increasing evidence indicates that microbi­otic crusts play several vital roles in arid andsemiarid rangeland ecosystems. The most im~

portant role likely is stabilization of soil surfacesand consequent reduction of soil erosion. Sup­port for tliis hypothesis has been gathered byseveral workers (Blackburn 197.5, Booth 1941,Fletclier and Martin 1948, Loope and Gifford1972, MacKenzie 'md Pearson 1979). In someinstances, microhiotic crusts improve seedlingestablisliment by prOviding moist sites in thecracks and complex topography of the crusts

.;D"partlUent of Bot,mv and Hange S,;knee, B',igh'Hll Yuung Univer1;it:', P"'''xJ, Utah 1)4002.- DepartnH'n! of Biology. Johl1 C,rrol] U"iv('rs'ly, UniV('r~itl' Ilefghts. Ohio 44.1. U;,

1

2 [Volume .53

(Eckert et aI. 1986, St. Clair et al. 1984). Soilcrusts hi:l\-e var;ing effects on infiltmtion, emu itis unclear whether they improve or worsenwater relations in the soil (Harper ,md Marhle1988. West 1990).

Probahly the second most import,mt rolemicrobiotic ('rusts play is the irnprovement ofsoil fertility. Both the free-li\iog and Iichenizedcyanobacteria fix atmospheric..' nitrogen in sig­nificant amounts (Jeffries et al. 1992, Klubekand Skujins 1980. Rychert et aI. 1978, West andSkujins 1977). Furthennore, the cnlsts contrib­ute 'to soil organic matter through primary pro­ducti\ity of the cy<Ulohactelia and algae (Jeffrieset al. in press). Through contributions oforganitmaterial and reduced erosion of silts and clays,c<ltion exchange c<lp<1:city may l~ higher incrusted soils.

~lit:robiotic crusts in North America are mostprevalent in the semiarid steppe regions in tht>Great B"sin, Colorado Phlte'lu, and ColumhiaBasin. They also extend into the hotter, morearid deSl?Tt~ in the sOllthwestern region..'i of theUnited States. These regions differ distinctlyfrom semi~uid regions east of the Rocky !\'1oun~

tains in that they developed without the pres­sure of large herds of grazing ungulates (i.e.,bison). Antelope. mule deer, and elk gmzed thesemiarid steppes before the arrival of Europeansettlers, but these herbivores did not graze inlarge herds and gmzed semiarid areas only dur­ing the colder months of the year. The domi­nance of bunchgrasses, shmbs, and microbioticcrust communities in the Intennountain \'\.'estreflects tbe histori<:aI grazing pressures presentin the region (Mack ,md Thompson 1982).

\Vith the introduction of grazing cattle andsheep, vascular and microbiotic <.:ommunitieshave both been impacted. Evidence indicatesthat domestic grazing animals seriously damagethe integrity of the microbiotic crust throughtmmpling of the cnlSt, particularly during dryperiods of the year (Anderson, Harper, andHolmgren 1982, Anderson, Halper, and Rush­fOlth 1982, Brotherson et al. 1983, Halper andMarble 1988). Destmction of microbiotic CJUstshy off-road vehicles and hackpackers hasrecentlv bec.'ome a concem in many areas.R~Ulgefires also damage microhiotic cnlst com­munities by killing most of the lichen, moss. and'~gal constituents (joh,msen et al. 1982, 1984).

Fa<.:tors influencing the development of mi­c:robiotic: crusts were studied hr Anderson, Har­per, and Holmgren (1982). They found that silty

soils \\;th high electriculconducthit), were mo~Iike~; to develop visihle crust features. A fewworkers hm-e studied recover\, ofcvanobatteria,lichens, and mosses follo"'ng dishIrb'U1ce (An­derson, Harper, and Rnsltforth 1982, Johansenaod 51. Clair 1986, Johaosen et aI. 1982, .1984).These studies indicate that algal recovelYOccursbefore lichen and moss reco\-ery, and that thepr<x:ess of full re(;OVelY takes many years. St.Ch"r et a1. (1986) demonstrated that recoveT)'can be accelerated through addition of eryp­togamic amendments. Despite these studies,OUT current underst<.mding ofrecovel)' of micro­biotic; crusts is very Jirnited.

\licrobiotic soil crusts of arid and semiaridr..mgelancl<; have rt'ceived considerable atten­tion in the literature. They have been the subjectof no fewer than six re\;ews in the pa'it fouryears (Dunne 1989, Hatper and Marble 1988,[siehei 1990, Johansen 199.3, _.letting 1991,We,t 1990). In the 1""t 50 years over one hun­dred papers have beeo puhlished on varion.'aspects of the c.:omposilion, distribution, physi­(;al properties, and e<.:oJogy ofarid/semiarid soilcrusts. There is a growing consensus amongresean:hers that these cmsts pla:r an imporhmtbeneficial role in the ceosystems in which theyoccur. However, ununimil:v does not exist. Inparticular. West (Gutkneci,t 1991. West 1990)has questioned the ec..'Ological value of microbi­otic crusts and c:alled Cor more rigorous studiesof their ecology, ph)~ical properties, and re­~ponse to ilisturhanl'e.

Because of the interest in microbiotic c:rustcommunities and the current debate over theirrole in semiarid and arid ecosystems, a sympo­sium on soil cnlSt communities was held at theannu,~ meeting ofthe Ame,ican Bryological andLichenological Soci~I)' in San Antuoio, Tem', 5Augost 1991. Tlus issue of tlte Great Basi"Naturalist contains the proleedings of that s)'ln­posium as well as other related papers on micro­biotic: soil ClustS.

The first part of the volume contains vwinuspapers dealing \\ith flolistics and distribution ofvarious crust components. 51. Clair et a1. (1993)re...iew the distribution of soil lichens in the aridand semiarid regions ofthe Intermountain \Vestoftlte United States. and address the impad ofwsturban<..'t" on soil lichen communities in thisregion. A report on the bryoplty1es ofcalcareollSsoils of a semiarid region of south centra! Aus­trolla is given by Downing and Selkirk (993).Grondin and Joh'msen (1993) give a preliminary

UJ93] INTHoDucnON TO THE SYMPOSIUM 3

species list uf soil algae from Colorado NationalMonument and ruS(.''Uss the spatial heterogene­ity of cyanobacteria and coccoid eukaryotic al­-gae in crusts of the monument .. Wheeler et al.(1993), in a companion paper to the work byGrondin and Johansen (1993), report on thespatial heterogeneity of bacterial populations inmicrohiotic crusts. Finally, Belnap and Gardner(1993) present an electron microscopical studyof Microcoleus vaginatus (Vauch.) Gomont,which elucidates the role that Microcoleus playsin the micmstIucture of microhiotic crusts.

The second part of the volume addresses theeL'Ology of the microhiotic t:lUstS. OUf under­standing of the relationship between microbi­otic crusts and soil hydrology is furthered in astudy of semiarid woodlands of Australia hyEldridge (1993). Contributions of microbioticcrusts to soil fertility are discussed by Harperand Pendleton (993), who present data indicat­ing that cyanobacteria and cyanobacterial li­chens may enhance the aV"J.ilability of severalessential minerals lor higher pkUllS. Johansen et,d. (1993) present the results of a study of theimpact of rangefire on soil algal (.'Ommunities inthe Columbia Basin and the degree of recoveryduring the two years following fire. In the finalpaper, Belnap (1993) discusses the use ofinocu­Jants in speeding recovery of microbiotic crusts.

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