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Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2025, Vol. 17 Issue (1): 130-143    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-025-0003-0     CSTR: 32276.14.JAL.02500030
Research article     
Effects of biological soil crusts on plant growth and nutrient dynamics in the Minqin oasis-desert ecotone, Northwest China
KANG Jianjun1, YANG Fan2,*(), ZHANG Dongmei1, DING Liang3
1Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
2Minqin National Studies Station for Desert Steppe Ecosystem, Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Lanzhou 730070, China
3Zhangye Agricultural and Rural Bureau, Zhangye 734000, China
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Abstract  

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) play crucial roles in improving soil fertility and promoting plants settlement and reproduction in arid areas. However, the specific effects of BSCs on growth status and nutrient accumulation of plants are still unclear in different arid areas. This study analyzed the effects of three different BSCs treatments (without crust (WC), intact crust (IC), and broken crust (BC)) on the growth, inorganic nutrient absorption, and organic solute synthesis of three typical desert plants (Grubovia dasyphylla (Fisch. & C. A. Mey.) Freitag & G. Kadereit, Nitraria tangutorum Bobrov, and Caragana koraiensis Kom.) in the Minqin desert-oasis ecotone of Northwest China. Results showed that the effects of three BSCs treatments on seed emergence and survival of three plants varied with seed types. The IC treatment significantly hindered the emergence and survival of seeds, while the BC treatment was more conducive to seed emergence and survival of plants. BSCs significantly promoted the growth of three plants, but their effects on plant growth varied at different stages of the growth. Briefly, the growth of G. dasyphylla was affected by BSCs in early stage, but the effects on the growth of G. dasyphylla significantly weakened in the middle and late stages. However, the growth of N. tangutorum and C. koraiensis only showed differences at the middle and late stages, with a significant enhancement in growth. Analysis of variance showed that BSCs, plant species, growth period, and their interactions had significant effects on the biomass and root: shoot ratio of three plants. BSC significantly affected the nutrients absorption and organic solute synthesis in plants. Specifically, BSCs significantly promoted nitrogen (N) absorption in plants and increased plant adaptability in N poor desert ecosystems, but had no significant effects on phosphorus (P) absorption. The effects of BSCs on inorganic nutrient absorption and organic solute synthesis in plants varied significantly among different plant species. The results suggest that BSCs have significant effects on the growth and nutrient accumulation of desert plants, which will provide theoretical basis for exploring the effects of BSCs on desert plant diversity, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem management measures in arid and semi-arid areas.

Key words： biological soil crusts (BSCs)      desert oasis      desert plants      growth      nutrient accumulation     
Received: 13 July 2024      Published: 31 January 2025
Corresponding Authors: *YANG Fan (E-mail: Yangfan202212@lzb.ac.cn)
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KANG Jianjun
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KANG Jianjun, YANG Fan, ZHANG Dongmei, DING Liang. Effects of biological soil crusts on plant growth and nutrient dynamics in the Minqin oasis-desert ecotone, Northwest China. Journal of Arid Land, 2025, 17(1): 130-143.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-025-0003-0     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2025/V17/I1/130

Fig. 1 Effects of different biological soil crusts (BSCs) treatments on soil water content. (a), 0-5 cm soil layer; (b), 5-10 cm soil layer; (c), 10-15 cm soil layer. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different BSCs treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.
Index 0-5 cm soil layer 5-10 cm soil layer 10-15 cm soil layer
IC WC BC IC WC BC IC WC BC
SOC
(g/kg)		 4.22±0.31a 2.53±0.22b 4.34±0.30a 2.04±0.20c 1.55±0.19d 2.13±0.28bc 1.64±0.27d 1.53±0.16d 1.58±0.21d
Total N (g/kg) 0.43±0.01a 0.39±0.02b 0.46±0.05a 0.30±0.03b 0.22±0.04c 0.32±0.04b 0.25±0.03c 0.25±0.03c 0.27±0.04bc
Total P (g/kg) 0.24±0.04a 0.20±0.02ab 0.25±0.04a 0.24±0.02a 0.20±0.01ab 0.19±0.03ab 0.22±0.02a 0.19±0.01ab 0.19±0.03ab
Total K (g/kg) 13.36±0.82a 11.41±0.71b 14.86±1.02a 11.69±0.90b 10.26±0.91bc 12.11±0.90ab 9.25±0.40c 9.30±0.56c 9.33±0.38c
Available N
(mg/kg)		 10.38±0.92a 8.20±0.55b 10.51±0.62a 8.95±1.01b 7.26±0.47c 8.23±0.81b 6.32±0.44d 6.19±0.68d 6.40±0.41d
Available P
(mg/kg)		 7.20±0.75a 6.58±0.62ab 7.30±0.57a 7.06±0.63a 6.37±0.58ab 7.09±0.47a 6.63±0.55ab 6.26±0.49ab 6.51±0.42ab
Available K
(mg/kg)		 123.65±9.80a 103.56±7.60b 131.65±7.80a 98.28±6.00b 94.26±7.30b 96.31±5.20b 72.38±5.30c 73.75±4.40c 73.95±4.90c
Table 1 Changes of soil nutrients status under different BSCs treatments and soil layers
Variation source Sum of square df Mean square F P
Correction mode 33,546.51 9.00 3452.48 26.72 0.00
Intercept 125,448.86 1.00 125,448.86 1020.41 0.00
Seed type (ST) 30,665.31 2.00 10,508.20 86.46 0.00
BSCs treatments (BSCs) 2566.72 3.00 1240.40 10.86 0.00
ST×BSCs 1157.85 6.00 198.68 1.56 0.12
Error 4013.25 32.00 104.45
Total variation (TA) 159,320.58 49.00
Correction of TA 410,802.17 46.00
Table 2 Multivariate variance analysis of plant seed types and BSCs treatments on seed emergence rate
Fig. 2 Effects of different BSCs treatments on seed emergence rate (a), seedling survival rate (b), and seed emergence speed (c) of the three desert plants. N. tangutorum, Nitraria tangutorum Bobrov; C. koraiensis, Caragana koraiensis Kom.; G. dasyphylla, Grubovia dasyphylla (Fisch. & C. A. Mey.) Freitag & G. Kadereit. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different BSCs treatments and plant species at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.
Species Treatment Early growth stage (cm) Middle growth stage (cm) Late growth stage (cm) End of growth period (cm)
15 June 1 July 15 July 1 August 15 August 1 September
Nitraria tangutorum Bobrov IC 3.42±0.21a 6.06±0.31a 10.02±0.60 a 15.42±1.22a 19.42±1.22a 24.68±1.65a 30.80±2.25a
WC 3.02±0.28b 5.01±0.42b 9.14±0.66b 13.45±0.98b 17.15±0.98b 21.15±1.20b 27.45±1.78b
BC 3.70±0.26a 6.20±0.50a 10.28±0.58a 15.09±1.30a 20.19±1.30a 25.15±1.40a 31.58±2.50a
Caragana koraiensis
Kom.		 IC 2.89±0.22a 5.10±0.35a 8.17±0.61a 12.38±0.65a 16.13±0.65a 20.23±2.60a 25.06±2.77a
WC 2.62±0.19b 4.42±0.24b 7.09±0.50b 11.12±0.68b 14.20±0.68b 18.25±1.64b 22.20±1.49b
BC 3.45±0.15a 5.23±0.25a 8.75±0.71a 12.80±0.87a 16.78±0.87a 20.70±2.17a 25.77±2.86a
Grubovia dasyphylla (Fisch. & C. A. Mey.) Freitag & G. Kadereit IC 6.11±0.33a 15.01±0.51a 19.11±0.69a 24.21±1.02a 29.23±1.77a 34.73±2.01a 39.66±2.38a
WC 5.34±0.20b 13.80±0.71b 17.38±0.80b 22.17±1.21b 27.36±1.57b 31.38±1.85b 35.40±2.80b
BC 6.61±0.25a 15.72±0.66a 19.71±0.91a 24.02±1.15a 29.66±1.8a 34.16±1.69a 39.10±2.25a
Table 3 Changes of plant height under different BSCs treatments and growth stages
Fig. 3 Effects of different BSCs treatments on fresh weight (a) and root:shoot ratio (b) of the three desert plants. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different BSCs treatments and plant species at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.
Factor Fresh weight per plant Aboveground biomass Belowground biomass Root:shoot ratio
Biological crusts (B) 33.47** 30.29** 0.93 11.57**
Plant species (S) 1026.83** 1865.50** 1565.39** 90.91**
Growth stages (P) 1895.66** 1070.23** 305.40** 4.36*
B×S 10.80** 14.36** 0.11 2.26
B×P 36.14** 34.40** 2.96* 4.02*
S×P 504.28** 412.75** 178.23** 4.47*
B×S×P 18.45** 15.56** 1.45* 0.69**
Table 4 One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the effects of biological crusts, plant species, growth stages, and their interactions on plant growth
Index
(mg/g)		 N. tangutorum C. koraiensis G. dasyphylla
IC WC BC IC WC BC IC WC BC
N 25.35±1.33b 22.10±1.06c 30.30±1.39a 19.14±0.94d 16.65±0.73e 24.86±0.88b 16.81±0.23e 14.15±0.27f 20.41±0.31cd
P 0.09±0.01ab 0.10±0.01a 0.9±0.01ab 0.09±0.03ab 0.08±0.01ab 0.09±0.03ab 0.11±0.02a 0.11±0.03a 0.10±0.03a
K+ 16.10±1.28e 15.43±1.33e 14.82±1.33e 29.65±1.77b 25.16±1.15c 36.65±1.77a 20.45±1.26d 16.39±0.79e 25.38±1.22c
Na+ 47.41±2.32b 36.47±2.18c 60.45±2.25a 2.79±0.35e 2.90±0.24e 2.74±0.33e 6.77±0.32d 6.33±0.48d 6.53±0.41d
Ca2+ 28.24±2.09b 23.16±0.89c 34.11±2.11a 17.35±1.23e 14.22±0.65f 20.85±1.25d 9.36±0.34h 7.13±0.23i 11.30±0.55g
Mg2+ 16.15±1.33b 14.13±0.74c 18.95±1.06a 8.65±0.51f 7.26±0.43g 11.66±0.30d 8.25±0.19f 7.16±0.27g 9.55±0.24e
SiO32- 43.63±2.90b 37.69±1.92c 50.74±3.11a 32.11±1.53d 26.37±1.77e 37.54±2.24c 22.94±1.31f 20.29±1.15g 24.57±1.68ef
Table 5 Effects of different BSCs treatments on inorganic nutrient uptake of the three desert plants
Index (mg/g) N. tangutorum C. koraiensis G. dasyphylla
IC WC BC IC WC BC IC WC BC
Free proline 1.18±0.16g 1.12±0.12g 1.09±0.18g 5.03±0.29b 4.16±0.18c 5.73±0.31a 3.61±0.25e 3.13±0.21f 4.11±0.22d
Soluble sugar 2.24±0.32g 2.17±0.41g 2.11±0.30g 8.45±0.34b 7.12±0.29c 9.36±0.24a 6.22±0.31e 5.45±0.40f 6.79±0.36d
Soluble protein 1.44±0.29g 1.38±0.21g 1.32±0.36g 6.12±0.30b 5.33±0.32c 6.82±0.40a 4.50±0.40e 4.05±0.25f 4.98±0.33d
Table 6 Effect of different BSCs treatments on organic solutes synthesis of the three desert plants
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