Do biological soil crusts determine vegetation changes in sandy deserts? Implications for managing artificial vegetation.

The article presents a study on the use of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in identifying the changes in sand-binding vegetation based on the soil moisture and water cycling in Tengger Desert in Nignxia Hui Autonomous Region in China. It states that the spatiotemporal patterns of the soil moisture, as well its re-allocation due to the reduced rainfall infiltration were changed by BSCs. The results show that BSCs could control the floristic and structural changes in sand-binding vegetation.