Organizing a global list of cyanobacteria and algae from soil biocrusts evidenced great geographic and taxonomic gaps.

ABSTRACT: Biocrusts determine soil stability and resiliency, with a special role played by oxygenic photoautotrophic microorganisms in these communities. We evaluated temporal and geographic trends in studies focused on these microorganisms in biocrusts. Two databases were surveyed to obtain scientific articles published from 1998 to 2020 containing the terms 'biocrusts,' 'algae,' and 'cyanobacteria.' Although interest in biocrusts has increased recently, their ecological importance is still little explored. The scientific articles that mentioned a species list of cyanobacteria and/or algae revealed a very heterogeneous geographic distribution of research. Biocrusts have not been explored in many regions and knowledge in the tropics, where these communities showed high species richness, is limited.

SUBMITTER: Dal-Ferro LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11221558 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature