Biocrust and sediment characteristics of biological soil crusts in coastal sand dunes in northern Germany

• Main Authors: Kammann, Sandra, Karsten, Ulf, Glaser, Karin, Schiefelbein, Ulf, Hassenrück, Christiane, Mikhailyuk, Tatiana, Demchenko, Eduardo, Dolnik, Christian, Leinweber, Peter
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2022
• Subjects: 16S rRNA; algae; Calculated; Carbon; per dry mass; Carbon/Nitrogen ratio; Chlorophyll total; areal concentration; Crusts; Darßer Ort; Mecklenburg Western Pomerania; Germany; DOBD; DOeGD; DOlGD; DOWD; dune; Event label; Field experiment; Green algae-dominated biocrust; cover; ICP-OES; Perkin-Elmer; Optima 8300; LATITUDE; lichens; Litter; Location; LONGITUDE; Moss-dominated biocrust; Nitrogen; Nutrient analyzer; Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH; vario EL cube; Organic matter; pH; pH meter; Mettler Toledo; S47-SevenMulti; Phosphorus; total; POBD; POGD; Point Intercept Method (Levy and Madden; 1933); POWD; POWW; Arctic; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.947837; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.947837

This dataset comprises environmental parameters for biological soil crusts in coastal sand dunes in northern Germany. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are autonomous ecosystems consisting of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms growing on the topsoil. They colonize global climatic zones, including temperate dunes. This study examined changes in the community structure of biocrust phototrophic organisms along a dune chronosequence at the Baltic Sea compared to an inland dune in Northern Germany. The community composition and their shift between different successional stages of dune development were related to physico-chemical sediment properties. A vegetation survey followed by species determination and sediment analyses were conducted. The sampling took place on the 25th of April and on the 5th of May 2020. The samples were collected at a costal dune area, namely the Schaabe spit on the island Rügen, Mecklenburg Wester-Pomerania, Germany, and in an inland dune area at Verden (Aller), Lower Saxony, Germany. Biocrust samples were taken along one transect per study site. Each transect followed a natural succession gradient in the dune area. Along each transect, the different successional dune stages were visually identified and further named as dune subsites. At each subsite, a sampling plot of 1 m2 was established and used for further vegetation analyses, biocrust and sediment sampling. Along the Schaabe spit transect four subsites with one sampling plot each were established and three subsites were established in the inland dune in Verden. For the vegetation survey seven different functional groups were defined describing the overall surface coverage: Thin (1-3 mm) green algae-dominated biocrusts were defined as early successional stages. Later successional stages, in which the green algae biocrusts became slightly thicker (3-8 mm) and moss-covered, were defined as the intermediate successional biocrust stage. Moss-dominated biocrusts and those who additionally lichenized characterized the mature ...