A research team led by Prof. Li Yuqiang from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered the mechanisms behind the formation of ...

Biocrust in Utah Nihonjoe via Wikipedia under CC By-SA 3.0 Under the dry, piercing heat of the Utah sun, Sasha Reed is growing plots of plants—and bacteria, lichen and fungi, too. But Reed is no ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A close-up of organic material growing on the Great Wall of China. Large swaths of the Great Wall of China are held together ...

Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem—one that you can help protect. By Jude Coleman / Knowable Magazine Published Sep 3, 2024 8:00 AM EDT This ...

Biocrusts, comprised of diverse organisms such as mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria, have an enormous influence on soil carbon dynamics. Therefore, understanding the function and response of ...

Have you ever heard of biocrusts? No, it’s not a new kind of pizza crust. Biocrusts refer to a group of tiny desert organisms (like mosses, lichens, cyanobacteria, and fungi) that live on the surface ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. These soil surfaces on the Great Wall are covered by a “living skin” of tiny, rootless plants and microorganisms known as ...

China’s Great Wall is an iconic cultural landmark that has stood for millennia. But the 13,000-mile-long structure is also at risk of disappearing because of natural erosion. Now, scientists have ...

The Great Wall of China, facing erosion and natural degradation, finds an unexpected protector in the form of biocrusts. These 'living skins' made up of plants and microorganisms cover 67% of the ...

The dark surfaces below the vertical cliffs are desert crust, undisturbed by humans but showing fine paths cut by deer. Click here to see larger image. Photo by Jeff Mitton. One morning, early, I ...