In this study we used spectra of biocrusts, bare soil and vegetation to analyze the effect of biocrust cover on the spectral response of heterogeneous areas.
Moreover, as biocrusts almost immediately turned dark after water pulses, the effect of biocrust cover on spectral indices increased already 30 min after wetting.
In a second approach we investigated the impact of biocrust water status on spectral characteristics.
However, ecohydrological modelling studies generally ignore biocrust and thus, the ecohydrological effects of biocrust on restorations remain largely unexplored.
There was an interactive effect of biocrust type and water additions, in that water additions increased AR rates only in dark biocrusts but had no effect on light biocrusts (Figure 1A, B; crust × water; F = 4.6, P = 0.005).
In our study we used visual inspection of biocrust color in the field to evaluate the N fixation potential of the biocrust community.
For the evaluation of biocrusts functions and their impact on soil carbon pools, the analysis of the interrelationship between photosynthetic activity and the variations of spatial distribution pattern and types of biocrust is indispensable.
There was a significant effect of biocrust type and temperature × water addition interaction on soil NH4+.
However, the potential effects of biocrust coverage and wetting patterns on swelling induced roughness are elusive.
For a model of biocrust cover, cattle disturbance was found to be an explanatory variable (p < 0.00001).
