Premium
Variation in snow cover drives differences in soil properties and microbial biomass of BSCs in the Gurbantunggut Desert—3 years of snow manipulations
Author(s) -
Hui Rong,
Liu Lichao,
Xie Min,
Yang Haotian
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
ecohydrology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.982
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1936-0592
pISSN - 1936-0584
DOI - 10.1002/eco.2118
Subject(s) - environmental science , snow , biomass (ecology) , arid , precipitation , soil science , hydrology (agriculture) , atmospheric sciences , agronomy , ecology , biology , geology , physics , geotechnical engineering , geomorphology , meteorology
Variations in snow cover (as specific precipitation) can have an important effect on development of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in arid and semiarid regions, where water is the principal limiting factor for microorganisms. However, there is still limited knowledge available regarding the effects of snowfall on soil properties and microbial biomass in BSCs. To examine these effects of snow cover, three types of BSCs (cyanobacteria‐dominated, lichen‐dominated, and moss‐dominated crusts) were collected and exposed to five snow depths for 3 years. The results indicated that most of the soil properties and soil microbial biomass were significantly ( p < .05) affected by 3 years of snow manipulation in three types of BSCs. In BSCs, the values of most soil properties and microbial biomass were higher in the increased snow depth treatments relative the snow removal treatments. Moreover, there were variations in soil properties and microbial biomass among BSC types. In short, increases/decreases in snow cover had different effects on three types of BSCs after 3 years of manipulation. Moreover, increases in snow cover had a positive influence on soil properties and microbial biomass, but negative effects were observed in all BSCs following snow removal and snow reduction. Thus, variations in snow cover can drive differences in soil properties and microbial biomass of BSCs, which may further affect development and succession of BSCs in arid and semiarid regions.