A realized facilitation cascade mediated by biological soil crusts in a sagebrush steppe community.

ABSTRACT: Biological soil crusts can have strong effects on vascular plant communities which have been inferred from short-term germination and early establishment responses. However, biocrusts are often assumed to function as an "organizing principle" in communities because their effects can "cascade" to interactions among crust-associated plant species. We conducted surveys and experiments to explore these cascades and found that biocrusts were positively associated with large patches (> 10 m diameter) of a dominant shrub Artemisia tridentata. At the smaller scale of individual shrubs and the open matrices between shrubs, biocrusts were negatively associated with Artemisia. Juveniles of Artemisia were found only in biocrusts in intershrub spaces and never under shrubs or in soil without biocrusts.

SUBMITTER: Ridenour WM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10036522 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature