A two-year field experiment in Central Asia's Gurbantunggut Desert found that biological soil crusts reduce ephemeral plant productivity and heighten its sensitivity to extreme drought, with soil

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01378-9This study shows that rewetting activates a small, distinct subset of dryland biocrust bacteria, with mature communities showing greater microbial activity independent of light conditions.

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01378-9This study shows that rewetting activates a small, distinct subset of dryland biocrust bacteria, with mature communities showing greater microbial activity independent of light conditions.

Biocrusts and shrubs commonly coexist in semiarid drylands. 15N2 and 13CO2 labeling showed that biocrust-fixed N was detected in shallow soil, shrub roots, and leaves, whereas biocrust-fixed C remain...

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Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem — one that you can help protect.

Living crusts produce and reinforce desert soils, laying a foundation for all life.

Cyanobacteria are a key biotic component as primary producers in biocrusts, topsoil communities that have important roles in the functioning of drylands. Yet, major knowledge gaps exist regarding ...

Extended Data Fig. 1 Time-series differences in the snow depth between the biocrusts-covered and bare soils during the snow cover events. Snow cover event (a) in January 2023; (b) in February 2023; (c) in April 2023; (d) from December 2023 to February 2024; (e) in February 2024; (f) in November 2024; (g) in January 2025; (h) from January to February 2025. The P value was obtained from the paired-sample t-test. Source data Extended Data Fig. 2 Surface roughness, thermal conductivity, and dust retention capacity for the biocrusts and bare surface soil. (a) Real-scene 3D reconstruction model of biocrusts; (b) Textural 3D reconstruction model of biocrusts; (c) Surface fluctuation curve of biocrusts; (d) Real-scene 3D reconstruction model of bare surface soil; (e) Textural 3D reconstruction model of bare surface soil; (f) Surface fluctuation curve of bare surface soil; (g) Difference in surface roughness between biocrusts and bare soil. The P value was obtained from the one-way ANOVA. Error bars represent ± SD; (h) Difference in thermal conductivity between biocrusts and bare soil at the 0–2 cm depth during cold winter. The P value was obtained from the paired-sample t-test. The horizontal bars and red stars within boxplots represent medians and mean...