However, the regulation of NSC in biological soil crusts across different slope positions remains unclear. In a recent study published in Plant and Soil, a research team led by Prof. Zhang ...

Biocrust, also called cryptobiotic soil, is a "community of tiny, dirt-dwelling organisms that form a distinct crust on the top of soil in arid landscapes," said Knowable Magazine. It covers ...

This applies especially to arid zones where soils sometimes have a surface crust of lichens, some blue-green algae, and other cryptogams covering as much as 30 per cent of the total soil area.