Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem.
Drylands are unique among terrestrial ecosystems in that they have a significant proportion of primary production facilitated by non-vascular plants such as colonial cyanobacteria, moss, and lichens, i.e., biocrusts, which occur on and in the surface soil. Biocrusts inhabit all continents, including...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952663 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11213821/ |
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ftpubmed:38952663 2024-09-15T17:40:40+00:00 Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. Power, Sarah N Thomas, Valerie A Salvatore, Mark R Barrett, John E 2024 Jul https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952663 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11213821/ eng eng PubMed Central https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952663 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11213821/ © 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Ecol Evol ISSN:2045-7758 Volume:14 Issue:7 biocrust carbon dryland habitat suitability remote sensing soil ecology Journal Article 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 2024-07-03T16:02:00Z Drylands are unique among terrestrial ecosystems in that they have a significant proportion of primary production facilitated by non-vascular plants such as colonial cyanobacteria, moss, and lichens, i.e., biocrusts, which occur on and in the surface soil. Biocrusts inhabit all continents, including Antarctica, an increasingly dynamic continent on the precipice of change. Here, we describe in-situ field surveying and sampling, remote sensing, and modeling approaches to assess the habitat suitability of biocrusts in the Lake Fryxell basin of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, which is the main site of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Soils suitable for the development of biocrusts are typically wetter, less alkaline, and less saline compared to unvegetated soils. Using random forest models, we show that gravimetric water content, electrical conductivity, and snow frequency are the top predictors of biocrust presence and biomass. Areas most suitable for the growth of dense biocrusts are soils associated with seasonal snow patches. Using geospatial data to extrapolate our habitat suitability model to the whole basin predicts that biocrusts are present in 2.7 × 105 m2 and contain 11-72 Mg of aboveground carbon, based on the 90% probability of occurrence. Our study illustrates the synergistic effect of combining field and remote sensing data for understanding the distribution and biomass of biocrusts, a foundational community in the carbon balance of this region. Extreme weather events and changing climate conditions in this region, especially those influencing snow accumulation and persistence, could have significant effects on the future distribution and abundance of biocrusts and therefore soil organic carbon storage in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys PubMed Central (PMC) Ecology and Evolution 14 7 |
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Open Polar |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
biocrust carbon dryland habitat suitability remote sensing soil ecology |
spellingShingle |
biocrust carbon dryland habitat suitability remote sensing soil ecology Power, Sarah N Thomas, Valerie A Salvatore, Mark R Barrett, John E Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
topic_facet |
biocrust carbon dryland habitat suitability remote sensing soil ecology |
description |
Drylands are unique among terrestrial ecosystems in that they have a significant proportion of primary production facilitated by non-vascular plants such as colonial cyanobacteria, moss, and lichens, i.e., biocrusts, which occur on and in the surface soil. Biocrusts inhabit all continents, including Antarctica, an increasingly dynamic continent on the precipice of change. Here, we describe in-situ field surveying and sampling, remote sensing, and modeling approaches to assess the habitat suitability of biocrusts in the Lake Fryxell basin of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, which is the main site of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Soils suitable for the development of biocrusts are typically wetter, less alkaline, and less saline compared to unvegetated soils. Using random forest models, we show that gravimetric water content, electrical conductivity, and snow frequency are the top predictors of biocrust presence and biomass. Areas most suitable for the growth of dense biocrusts are soils associated with seasonal snow patches. Using geospatial data to extrapolate our habitat suitability model to the whole basin predicts that biocrusts are present in 2.7 × 105 m2 and contain 11-72 Mg of aboveground carbon, based on the 90% probability of occurrence. Our study illustrates the synergistic effect of combining field and remote sensing data for understanding the distribution and biomass of biocrusts, a foundational community in the carbon balance of this region. Extreme weather events and changing climate conditions in this region, especially those influencing snow accumulation and persistence, could have significant effects on the future distribution and abundance of biocrusts and therefore soil organic carbon storage in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Power, Sarah N Thomas, Valerie A Salvatore, Mark R Barrett, John E |
author_facet |
Power, Sarah N Thomas, Valerie A Salvatore, Mark R Barrett, John E |
author_sort |
Power, Sarah N |
title |
Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
title_short |
Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
title_full |
Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
title_fullStr |
Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
title_sort |
habitat suitability of biocrust communities in a cold desert ecosystem. |
publisher |
PubMed Central |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952663 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11213821/ |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
op_source |
Ecol Evol ISSN:2045-7758 Volume:14 Issue:7 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38952663 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11213821/ |
op_rights |
© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11649 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
7 |
_version_ |
1810486697554608128 |