In a Fierce Desert, Microbe ‘Crusts’ Show How Life Tamed the Land
At first glance, the grit crust could seem like a routine example of what researchers call a biological soil crust, or “biocrust”—a community of coexisting bacteria, fungi, algae, and other microorganisms that caps the soil in coherent sheets. Around 12 percent of Earth’s land is covered by biocrusts. Ecologists often refer to these colonies as […]