Hydrolase enzyme activities in a successional gradient of biological soil crusts in arid and semi-arid zones
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Miralles Mellado, Isabel; Domingo Poveda, Francisco; Cantón Castilla, María Yolanda; Trasar Cepeda, Carmen; Leirós, María del Carmen; [et al.]Fecha
2012-10Resumen
In arid and semi-arid regions, pioneer organisms form complex communities that penetrate the upper millimetres of the bare substrate, creating biological soil crusts (BSC). These thin crusts play a vital role in whole ecosystem functioning because they enrich bare surfaces with organic matter, initiate biogeochemical cycling of elements, modify hydrological cycles, etc., thus enabling the ground to be colonized by vascular plants. Various hydrolase enzymes involved in the carbon (cellulase, β-glucosidase and invertase activities), nitrogen (casein-protease and BAA-protease activities) and phosphorus (alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity) cycles were studied at three levels (crust, middle and deep layers) of three types of BSCs from the Tabernas Desert (SE Spain), representing an ecological gradient ranging from crusts predominated by cyanobacteria to crusts predominated by lichens (Diploschistes diacapsis, Lepraria crassissima). All enzyme activities were higher in all layers of all B...
Palabra/s clave
Hydrolytic enzymes
Biochemical activity
Cyanobacteria
Lichens