ArticleFrontiers in microbiology2023
Biological soil crusts decrease infiltration but increase erosion resistance in a human-disturbed tropical dry forest.
Article in Frontiers in microbiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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3 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Soil dissolved organic matter dynamics under dryland restoration: disentangling land use, vegetation, and management controls.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Distinct responses of Scytonema hyalinum and Leptolyngbya sp. to water availability and biocrust formation.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2025Article
- Environment-mediated interactions cause an externalized and collective memory in bacteria.The ISME journal · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Under continuous human disturbance, regeneration is the basis for biodiversity persistence and ecosystem service provision. In tropical dry forests, edaphic ecosystem engineering by biological soil crusts (biocrusts) could impact regeneration by influencing erosion control and soil water and nutrient fluxes, which impact landscape hydrology, geomorphology, and ecosystem functioning. This study investigated the effect of cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts on water infiltration and aggregate stability in a human-modified landscape of the Caatinga dry forest (NE Brazil), a system characterized by high levels of forest degradation and increasing aridity. By trapping dust and swelling of cyanobacterial filaments, biocrusts can seal soil surfaces and slow down infiltration, which potentially induces erosion. To quantify hydraulic properties and erosion control, we used minidisc-infiltrometry, raindrop-simulation, and wet sieving at two sites with contrasting disturbance levels: an active cashew plantation and an abandoned field experiencing forest regeneration, both characterized by sandy soils. Under disturbance, biocrusts had a stronger negative impact on infiltration (reduction by 42% vs. 37% during regeneration), although biocrusts under regenerating conditions had the lowest absolute sorptivity (0.042 ± 0.02 cm s
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