Labile carbon in biological soil crusts in the Tabernas desert, SE Spain
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2013-03Resumen
Decomposition processes are extremely important in biological soil crusts (BSCs). Although the effects of
temperature and moisture on such processes have been widely studied, little is known about the
influence of the readily metabolizable substrate (labile C) and how this substrate varies in different types
of BSCs. In the present study, BSCs formed by cyanobacteria (CYANO) and by lichens (DIPLOS and LEPRA)
were incubated at 25 C (optimum temperature) and different moisture levels, for evaluation of the pool
of labile C in the crust layers. Labile C was estimated as the sum of CO2eC emitted and the C extracted
with hot water (80 C) at the end of the incubation period. In all crusts, the relationship between
emission and moisture fitted a quadratic model. For the different moisture contents, the sum of CO2eC
emitted and C extracted with hot water converged to a constant value for each type of crust. This value,
considered as the maximum content of labile C in the crust, was ...
Palabra/s clave
Soil emission
Soil biomass
Carbohydrates
Cyanobacteria
Lichens