Abstract
Microbial populations play a critical role in the regulation of nutrient cycling and energy flow in ecosystems, as they mediate decomposition and subsequent mineralization rates which, in turn, regulate nutrient availability and primary production (Zak and Freckman 1991). Even in regions where water is considered limiting, nutrient availability can restrict plant growth (Romney et al. 1978). Extreme temperatures and/or low soil moisture restrict soil food web development. As soil favorability increases, edaphic taxa generally appear in the following order: pigmented bacteria > actinomycetes > algae and cyanobacteria > fungi, protozoa, other bacteria > lichens > mosses and microarthropods (Cameron et al. 1970).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson RV, Ingham RE, Trofymow JW, Coleman DC (1984) Soil mesofaunal distribution in relation to habitat types in a shortgrass prairie. Pedobiologia 26: 257–261
Bailey RH (1976) Ecological aspects of dispersal and establishment in lichens. In: Brown DH, Hawksworth DL, Bailey RH (eds) Lichenology: progress and problems. Academic Press, London, pp 215–247
Bamforth SS (1984) Microbial distributions in Arizona deserts and woodlands. Soil Biol Biochem 16:133–137
Binet P (1981) Short-term dynamics of minerals in arid ecosystems. In: Goodall DW, Perry RA (eds) Arid land ecosystems, vol 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 325–356
Bolton JH, Smith JL, Link SO (1993) Soil microbial biomass and activity of a disturbed and undisturbed shrub-steppe ecosystem. Soil Biol Biochem 25:545–552
Cameron RE, Blank GB (1967) Soil studies — microflora of desert regions. VIII. Distribution and abundance of desert microflora. Jet Prop Lab Space Progr Summary, No 37-44,4:193–201
Cameron RE, King J, David CN (1970) Soil microbial ecology of Wheeler Valley, Antarctica. Soil Sci 109:110–120
Crawford CS (1981) Biology of desert invertebrates. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Franco PJ, Edney EB, McBrayer JF (1979) The distribution and abundance of soil arthropods in the northern Mojave Desert. J Arid Environ 2:137–149
Freckman DW, Sher SA, Mankau R (1974) Biology of nematodes in desert ecosystems. US Int Biol Progr, Desert Biome Res Memo 74-35, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Ghabbour SI, El-Ayouty EY, Khadr MS, El-Tonsi AMS (1980) Grazing by microfauna and productivity of heterocystous nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae in desert soils. Oikos 34:209–218
Ingham RE, Trofymow JA, Ingham ER, Coleman DC (1985) Interactions of bacteria, fungi, and their nematode grazers: effects on nutrient cycling, and plant growth. EcolMonogr 55:119–140
Kieft TL (1991) Soil microbiology in reclamation of arid and semi-arid lands. In: Skujins J (ed) Semiarid lands and deserts: soil resource and reclamation. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 209–256
Kovda VA, Samoilova EM, Charley JL, Skujins J (1979) Soil processes in arid lands. In: Goodall DW, Perry RA, Howes KMW (eds) Arid-land ecosystems: structure, functioning and management. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 439–470
Loria M, Herrnstadt J (1980) Moss capsules as food of the harvest ant. Bryologist 83:524–525
Lynch JM, Harper SHT (1983) Straw as a substrate for cooperative nitrogen fixation. J Gen Microbiol 129:251–253
Parkinson D (1983) Functional relationships between soil organisms. In: Lebrun P, Andre HM, De Medts A, Gregoire-Wibo C, Wauthy G (eds) Proc VIII Int Coll Soil Zoology. Dieu-Brichart, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, pp 153–165
Rogers LE, Fitzner RE, Cadwell LL, Vaughn BE (1988) Terrestrial animal habitats and population responses. In: Rickard WH, Rogers LE, Vaughn BE, Liebetrau SF (eds) Shrub-steppe: balance and change in a semi-arid terrestrial ecosystem. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 181–256
Romney EM, Wallace A, Hunter RB (1978) Plant response to nitrogen fertilization in the northern Mojave Desert and its relationship to water manipulations. In: West NW, Skujins J (eds) Nitrogen in desert ecosystems. Dowden, Hutchinson &; Ross, Strouds-burg, PA, pp 232–243
Rundel PW, Gibson AC (1996) Ecological communities and processes in a Mojave Desert ecosystem, Rock Valley, Nevada. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Rychert RC, Skujins J (1973) Microbial activity in acid soils. Utah Sci 34:96–98
Schiefer GE, Caldwell DE (1982) Synergistic interaction between Anabaena and Zooloeaspp. in carbon dioxide-limited continuous cultures. Appl Environ Microbiol 44:84–87
Skujins J (1984) Microbial ecology of desert soils. In: Marshall CC (ed) Advances in microbial biology. Plenum Press, New York, pp 49–91
Smith NR, Griggs RF (1932) The microflora of the ash of Katmai Volcano with especial reference to nitrogen fixing bacteria. Soil Sci 34:365–373
Steinberger Y (1991) Biology of arid region soils — faunal components. In: Skujins J (ed) Semiarid lands and deserts: soil resource and reclamation. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 173–192
Tchan YT, Whitehouse JA (1953) Study of soil algae. II. The variation of the algal populations in sandy soil. Proc Linn Soc NSW 78:160–170
Wallwork JA (1972) Distribution patterns and population dynamics of the micro-arthropods of a desert soil in southern California. J Anim Ecol 41:291–310
Walter DE (1988) Nematophagy by soil arthropods from the shortgrass steppe, Chihuahuan Desert and Rocky Mountains of the central United States. Agric Eco-Syst Environ 24:307–316
Whitford WG (1996) The importance of the biodiversity of soil biota in arid ecosystems. Biodiv Conserv 5:185–195
Whitford WG, Freckman DW, Elkins NZ, Parker LW, Parmalee R, Phillips J, Tucker S (1981) Diurnal migration and responses to simulated rainfall in desert soil micro-arthropods and nematodes. Soil Biol Biochem 13:417–425
Wood TG (1971) The distribution and abundance of Folsomides deserticola (Collembola: Isotomidae) and other micro-arthropods in arid and semi-arid soils in southern Australia, with a note on nematode populations. Pedobiologia 11:446–468
Yeates GW (1979) Soil nematodes in terrestrial ecosystems. J Nematol 11:213–229
Zak JC, Freckman DW (1991) Soil communities in deserts: microarthropods and nematodes. In: Polis G (ed) Ecology of desert communities. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, pp 55–88
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Belnap, J. (2001). Microbes and Microfauna Associated with Biological Soil Crusts. In: Belnap, J., Lange, O.L. (eds) Biological Soil Crusts: Structure, Function, and Management. Ecological Studies, vol 150. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56475-8_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56475-8_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43757-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56475-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive