Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate
Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate
复制标题
DOI：
10.1038/s41558-021-01249-6
复制
发表时间：
2022-01
影响因子：
30.7
通讯作者：
M. Phillips;B. McNellis;A. Howell;C. Lauria;J. Belnap;S. Reed
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
M. Phillips;B. McNellis;A. Howell;C. Lauria;J. Belnap;S. Reed
全球对荒漠化的关注集中在大片和不断扩大的旱地在受到干扰后恢复缓慢，而气候变化可能会加剧这种情况。生物土壤结皮（生物结皮）是在世界各地旱地发现的光合土壤群落，对于旱地生态系统的稳定性和恢复力至关重要，但容易受到全球变化的影响。在这里，我们使用多个长达十年的实验来研究气候和土地利用变化对生物结皮和土壤稳定性的影响。生物结皮在环境温度下迅速恢复，但变暖与降水干扰相互作用，导致恢复停止。此外，仅变暖就导致了苔藓、地衣和土壤稳定性的丧失。我们的研究结果提出了一种导致旱地土地退化的新机制，即变暖推动了生物结皮群落的状态转变，从而降低了土壤稳定性。气候和土地利用变化的协同效应在全球范围内共同发生，我们的研究结果支持了变暖情况下荒漠化加剧和旱地恢复力降低的预测。
Global concerns for desertification have focused on the slow recovery of extensive and expanding drylands following disturbance, which may be exacerbated by climate change. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are photosynthetic soil communities found in drylands worldwide, which are central to the stability and resilience of dryland ecosystems, but vulnerable to global change. Here we use multiple decade-long experiments to investigate the consequences of climate and land-use change on biocrusts and soil stability. Biocrusts recovered rapidly under ambient temperatures but warming interacted with the precipitation disturbance to halt recovery. Moreover, warming alone caused losses of mosses, lichens and soil stability. Our results present a new mechanism contributing to land degradation in drylands whereby warming drives a state shift in biocrust communities, which degrades soil stability. The synergistic effects of climate and land-use change co-occur globally and our results support projections of increased desertification and lowered dryland resilience under warming.