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Biocrust morphogroups provide an effective and rapid assessment tool for drylands
Cassia F Read1, David H Duncan2, Peter A Vesk1
1School of Botany, University of Melbourne Parkville, Vic., 3010, Australia.
The Journal of Applied Ecology
|January 20, 2015
Summary
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are key indicators of dryland health. Surveying biocrust morphogroups, a simplified classification, effectively detects degradation and ecosystem integrity changes better than species data.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Botany
Background:
- Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial components of arid and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide.
- Biocrusts serve as sensitive indicators of dryland degradation, making their assessment vital for ecosystem integrity.
- Current methods for assessing biocrust composition and its relation to degradation are not fully established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of biocrust morphogroups as a tool for assessing dryland degradation.
- To compare the utility of morphogroup surveys against species-level data for detecting changes in biocrust composition.
- To determine if morphogroup data can provide reliable inference about the ecological integrity of dryland environments.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multivariate regression tree (MRT) analyses on data from two independent studies in Australian semi-arid woodlands.
- Modeled biocrust morphogroup abundance, species abundance, and species occurrence.
- Enhanced MRT with a 'best subsets' model selection procedure to improve stability and predictive accuracy.
Main Results:
- Biocrust morphogroup composition demonstrated a strong response to ecological degradation indicators.
- MRT models based on morphogroup data exhibited superior explanatory and predictive power compared to species-based models.
- Identified specific morphogroups indicative of degraded versus less degraded sites within the study region.
Conclusions:
- Biocrust morphogroups are highly suitable for assessing dryland integrity due to their robustness, ease of survey, and informative nature.
- Morphogroup assessment offers a more reliable and less environmentally variable method for detecting degradation than species-level data.
- This approach supports sustainable dryland management by providing a practical tool for monitoring ecological shifts.
Keywords:
biological soil crustbryophytecyanobacteriaecological integrityfunctional grouplichenmorphological groupmultivariate regression treesrapid surveysemi-aridMore Related Videos
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