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cje ›› 2010, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (01): 133-141.

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Environmental factors affecting soil bio-crust distribution.

CHENG Jun-hui1,2,ZHANG Yuan-ming1   

  1. 1Key Laboratary of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China;2Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
  • Online:2010-01-08 Published:2010-01-08

Abstract: Soil bio-crust (SBC) widely distributes in arid and desert regions, and plays a key role in the functioning of arid and desert ecosystems. However, not all the arid lands and deserts are covered by SBC. At global and regional scales, the distribution of SBC is positively related to the annual precipitation, dew, and soil moisture content, while the effects of temperature on the distribution vary with the species composition of SBC. At local and small scales, the distribution of SBC is affected by soil texture and nutrients availability. At present, the effects of vascular plants on the distribution of SBC are uncertain. Moderate disturbance has little effects on the distribution and ecological functions of SBC, but severe disturbance can induce the decrease of SBC cover and the deterioration of the structure and function of SBC. The effects of global change on SBC distribution, the mechanisms of the adaptive distribution and succession of SBC, as well as the ecological functions of SBC in its recovery process, would be the hot topics in the future.

Key words: Eco-industrial park, Power plant, Emergy, Sustainability