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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (3): 131-140.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00039

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Effects of biological soil crusts development on carbon cycling in extreme environments

Jia Li(), Xiaohong Jia(), Dezheng Zhou, Bo Wu   

  1. Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Desert Ecosystem and Global Change,Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration,Chinese Academy of Forestry,Beijing 100091,China
  • Received:2025-04-07 Revised:2025-04-27 Online:2025-05-20 Published:2025-06-30
  • Contact: Xiaohong Jia

Abstract:

In extreme environments such as high-altitude cold, arid, and high-temperature regions where the development of vascular plants is restricted, biological soil crusts (BSCs) act as vital living surface coverings and play a crucial role in the ecosystem carbon cycle. To accurately assess the impact of BSC development in extreme environments on the carbon cycle, this paper systematically reviews relevant domestic and international research literature. It comprehensively explores key carbon cycle processes of BSCs, including photosynthetic carbon fixation,respiratory carbon emission, and net photosynthesis, as well as their impacts on atmospheric carbon exchange and soil organic carbon. Additionally, it summarizes the differences in the carbon cycling processes of various BSCs types and under different regional environmental conditions, and elucidates the underlying causes. The comprehensive analysis indicates that BSCs possess strong capabilities for photosynthetic carbon fixation and respiratory carbon emission, and they typically exhibit net accumulation of organic matter under normal physiological conditions. The development of BSCs has a dual regulatory effect on the rate of carbon emission from soil to the atmosphere. In the long term, their development increases the amount of carbon emitted from soil to the atmosphere, thereby enhancing the carbon source effect. The development of BSCs also increases the soil organic carbon content. Moss-dominated BSCs show significantly stronger capabilities in photosynthetic carbon fixation, carbon emission from the BSC-soil system, and promotion of soil organic carbon compared to algae-dominated BSCs. Precipitation and warming are the main factors causing differences in the carbon cycling of BSCs and BSC-soil system across different regions. Under climate change scenarios such as changes in precipitation and increased temperatures, the dynamic responses of BSC carbon cycling and the non-linear responses of carbon exchange between the BSC-soil system and the atmosphere are observed. This study clarifies the mechanisms by which BSC development affects the ecosystem carbon cycle and provides a solid theoretical basis for the scientific management and effective achievement of “carbon neutrality” goals in extreme environments.

Key words: biological soil crusts, photosynthetic carbon fixation, respiration, soil organic carbon

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