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. Arctic, Antarctic and alpine biological soil crusts (BSCs) are formed byadhesion of soil particles to exopolysaccharides (EPSs) excreted bycyanobacterial and green algal communities, the pioneers and main primaryproducers in these habitats. These BSCs provide and influence many ecosystemservices such as soil erodibility, soil formation and nitrogen (N) andcarbon (C) cycles. In cold environments degradation rates are low andBSCs continuously increase soil organic C; therefore, these soils areconsidered to be CO2 sinks. This work provides a novel, non-destructiveand highly comparable method to investigate intact BSCs with a focus oncyanobacteria and green algae and their contribution to soil organic C. A newterminology arose, based on confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) 2-Dbiomaps, dividing BSCs into a photosynthetic active layer (PAL) made ofactive photoautotrophic organisms and a photosynthetic inactive layer (PIL)harbouring remnants of cyanobacteria and green algae glued together by theirremaining EPSs. By the application of CLSM image analysis (CLSM–IA) to 3-Dbiomaps, C coming from photosynthetic active organisms could be visualized asdepth profiles with C peaks at 0.5 to 2 mm depth. Additionally, the CO2 sink character of these cold soil habitats dominated by BSCs could behighlighted, demonstrating that the first cubic centimetre of soil consistsof between 7 and 17 % total organic carbon, identified by loss onignition.

Uncovering biological soil crusts: carbon content and structure of intact Arctic, Antarctic and alpine biological soil crusts