Diversity and Key Organisms in the Biocrust of a Tropical Granite-Gneiss Rocky Outcrop.

Rocky outcrops are harsh habitats that support specialized organisms and communities, including biocrusts, which play roles in soil stabilization, water retention, and nutrient cycling. Despite their importance, tropical biocrusts, particularly in granite-gneiss formations, remain underexplored. This study examines biocrust composition in a granite-gneiss outcrop in a rural landscape in Southeastern Brazil, identifying microhabitats and analyzing co-occurrence patterns and community structure.

Aluminum accumulation in mosses from the Brazilian savanna: a comparative study of two species revealing similar traits to vascular plants.

Mosses from the Brazilian savanna accumulate aluminum (Al) and exhibit mechanisms similar to vascular plants, but different species use distinct strategies for Al accumulation in apoplast and symplast pathways. Bryophytes are conspicuous components of the vegetation in the Brazilian savanna, particularly in the Campo Rupestre phytophysiognomy. There are two main types of Campos Rupestres, each with distinct soil characteristics: quartzitic and ferruginous.

Organizing a global list of cyanobacteria and algae from soil biocrusts evidenced great geographic and taxonomic gaps.

Biocrusts determine soil stability and resiliency, with a special role played by oxygenic photoautotrophic microorganisms in these communities. We evaluated temporal and geographic trends in studies focused on these microorganisms in biocrusts. Two databases were surveyed to obtain scientific articles published from 1998 to 2020 containing the terms 'biocrusts,' 'algae,' and 'cyanobacteria.

Biological soil crusts and how they might colonize other worlds: insights from these Brazilian ecosystem engineers.

When bryophytes, lichens, eukaryotic algae, cyanobacteria, bacteria, and fungi live interacting intimately with the most superficial particles of the soil, they form a complex community of organisms called the biological soil crust (BSC or biocrust). These biocrusts occur predominantly in drylands, where they provide important ecological services such as soil aggregation, moisture retention, and nitrogen fixation. Unfortunately, many BSC communities remain poorly explored, especially in the tropics.