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. Biological soil crust (BSC) is an essential part of arid and semiarid regions;however information concerning the spatial heterogeneity of the interactionsbetween crust, plants and soil microbes is limited. Sampling was confined toan area either covered with Erica spp. shrubs interspaced by crust cover(Cladonia rangiformis) or uncovered by crust. Along a straight line of 100 cm from thebase of the shrubs towards their periphery and at successive distances of 20 cm, soil samples were collected once. The biomass, the composition and thenetwork of interactions among the members of the soil microbial communitiesas well as the activity of soil enzymes involved in the C, N and P cycle wereestimated. Crust coverage exerted a significant allelopathic negative effecton soil microbial biomasses due to the leaching of lichen's antimicrobialsubstances. In contrast, the crust effect on enzyme activity was positive,probably due to the amelioration of soil abiotic conditions. The distancefrom the base of Erica spp. affected the total microbial and bacterial biomass,with lower values at the base of the shrubs. The composition of microbialcommunities between the different sampling points exhibited significantdissimilarities. Network analysis revealed that in uncrusted soils the mostconnected microbial network was at samples collected from a distanceof &gt;60 cm (bare soils), while in crusted soils this was at samplescollected at the base of shrubs. We concluded that microbial biomass showedlimited response to spatial heterogeneity, while the composition and thetopology of interactions among the microbial members reflected aheterogeneous soil environment existing on a small spatial scale inMediterranean areas. The microbial community in bare soil appeared to be themost robust against future disturbances.

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Spatial heterogeneity of &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Cladonia rangiformis&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Erica&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; spp. induces variable effects on soil microbial communities which are most robust in bare-soil microhabitats