Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands

Biological soil crusts as a critical zone of global importance.- How biological soil crusts became studied as a community.- Fossil crusts.- Cyanobacteria and algae within biological soil crusts.- Fungi and bacteria within biological soil crusts.- Bryophytes within biological soil crusts.- Lichens within biological soil crusts.- Microfauna within biological soil crusts.- Composition and structure of biological soil crusts.- Controls on distribution patterns of biological soil crusts at the micro-, macro-, and global scale.- Hypolithic communities.- Remote sensing of biological soil crusts at different scales.- Microstructure and weathering processes within biological soil crusts.- Patterns and controls on nitrogen cycling of biological soil crusts.- Carbon budgets of biological soil crusts at micro- meso-, and global scales.- Biological soil crusts as soil stabilizers.- Effects of biological soil crusts on arid land hydrology.- Response of biological soil crust organisms to light, temperature, and water conditions.- Interactions of biological soil crusts with vascular plants.- Biological soil crusts as model to study plant interactions and functional roles.- Effects of disturbance on biological soil crusts.- Effects of climate change on biological soil crusts.- Natural recovery of biological soil crusts after disturbance.- Enhanced recovery of biological soil crusts after disturbance.- Synthesis on biological soil crust research.