Bacterial Communities of Mojave Desert Biological Soil Crusts Are Shaped by Dominant Photoautotrophs and the Presence of Hypolithic Niches
Biocrust communities are often heterogeneous and affected by small-scale environmental features, including both physical and biotic factors.The presence of moss in biocrusts, for example, is likely to create a set of physical conditions distinct from those found in microbial biocrusts that lack mosses.Similarly, hypolithic organisms living under an