by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
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Widespread in arid or semi-arid lands, soil biocrusts<\/strong> are a particularly valuable natural resource. Crucial in fact is the role of its hosts, namely fungi, lichens and microbes. These communities of microorganisms are the ones that maintain the function of ecosystems. But the dynamics behind them are still unclear.<\/p>\n Unraveling part of these mechanisms is a recent study<\/a> by the Chinese Academy of Sciences<\/strong> that sequenced long-term restoration processes in the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. The researchers, led by scientist Li Xinrong<\/strong> of the Academy’s Northwest Institute of Ecoenvironment and Resources, highlighted the drivers of changes in subsurface bacterial communities. And the influence played by the crusts above them.<\/p>\n