Spatial heterogeneity of <i>Cladonia rangiformis</i> and <i>Erica</i> spp. induces variable effects on soil microbial communities which are most robust in bare-soil microhabitats

Dostos, Theofilos; Kapagianni, Pantelitsa D.; Monokrousos, Nikolaos; Stamou, George P.; Papatheodorou, Efimia M.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/we-22-21-2022

Articles | Volume 22, issue 1

Web Ecol., 22, 21–31, 2022

https://doi.org/10.5194/we-22-21-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue: Biological soil crusts

Web Ecol., 22, 21–31, 2022

https://doi.org/10.5194/we-22-21-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 1

Standard article

08 Apr 2022

Standard article | 08 Apr 2022

Spatial heterogeneity of Cladonia rangiformis and Erica spp. induces variable effects on soil microbial communities which are most robust in bare-soil microhabitats

Theofilos Dostos et al.

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/we-22-21-2022-supplement

Data sets

papatheo1/Theophilos-data: Biocrust data papatheo1 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6411849

Short summary

Biocrusts in arid and semiarid regions interact with soil microbes and plants. The knowledge of the spatial scale of the interactions adds value to crusts' use for plant and soil restoration. Soil sampling was confined to an area with Erica spp. shrubs interspaced by crust cover (Cladonia rangiformis) or uncovered at different distances from the base of the shrubs towards the periphery. The community composition and the microbial networks showed response to spatial heterogeneity.