Dune Blowouts as Microbial Hotspots and the Changes of Overall Microbial Activity and Photosynthetic Biomass Along with Succession of Biological Soil Crusts

Abstract

Biological soil crust (BSC) constitutes a consortium of cyanobacteria, algae, lichen, mosses, and heterotrophic microorganisms, forming a miniature ecosystem within the uppermost soil layer. The biomass of different organisms forming BSC and their activity changes along with succession. Previous studies focused primarily on BSC in hyper-arid/arid regions, whereas the ecophysiology of BSC in temperate climates is still not well recognized. In order to determine changes in overall microbial activity and photosynthetic biomass in BSC at different stages of the succession of inland sandy grasslands, we analyzed dehydrogenase activity and determined the content of photosynthetic pigments. We also compared these parameters between BSC developed on the dune ridges and aeolian blowouts in the initial stage of succession. Our study revealed a significant increase in both photosynthetic biomass and overall microbial activity in BSC as the succession of inland shifting sands progresses. We found that chl a concentration in BSC could be considered a useful quantitative indicator of both the presence of photoautotrophs and the degree of soil crust development in warm-summer humid continental climates. The photosynthetic biomass was closely related to increased microbial activity in BSC, which suggests that photoautotrophs constitute a major BSC component. Dune blowouts constitute environmental niches facilitating the development of BSC, compared to dune ridges. High biomass of microorganisms in the dune blowouts may be associated with a high amount of organic material and more favorable moisture conditions. We conclude that deflation fields are key places for keeping a mosaic of habitats in the area of shifting sands and can be a reservoir of microorganisms supporting further settlement of dune slopes by BSC.