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Background and aim <p>Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are critical contributors to the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in fragile ecosystems, though how they drive carbon sequestration in lithologically complex karst remains unclear.</p> Methods <p>This study investigated moss-dominated biocrusts and their underlying soils derived from dolomite and clastic rocks in the karst region of Southwest China, analyzing the distribution characteristics and internal mechanism of SOC and its fractions across different coverage levels.</p> Results <p>The results showed that: (1) Lithology significantly influenced moss biocrust development, with clastic-derived biocrusts exhibiting greater thickness and biomass than dolomite. (2) The content and stock of SOC and its fractions were higher in dolomite, while clastic rocks were more responsive to increased biocrust coverage, with the increments in&#xa0;total organic carbon (TOC) content and stock (TOCs) at high coverage (80–100%) being 2.00- and 2.11-fold greater than in dolomite. (3) Biocrust development increased contributions of &gt; 2&#xa0;mm aggregates to TOC and its fractions. The content of Polysaccharide-C was dominant in both lithologies, high-coverage biocrusts significantly increased Phenolic-C and Aromatic-C content. (4) Lithology directly regulated SOC functional groups and fraction contents, while biocrusts directly improved soil particle composition and enhanced TOC and its fractions significantly, driving TOC and its fractions to directly and positively affect TOCs (<i>λ</i> = 0.851, <i>P</i> &lt; 0.01).</p> Conclusion <p>SOC sequestration is influenced by the synergy of lithology and biocrust, where under lithological constraints, biocrust directly contributes to accumulating carbon fractions and improving soil structure, forming a critical pathway for carbon sink formation in karst ecosystems.</p>

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How do moss-dominated biocrusts drive carbon sequestration under lithological constraints in karst soils?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月16日

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  • Fang Wang,
  • Yuanfeng Yang,
  • Ze Li,
  • Zhe Lin,
  • Zhiyong Fu,
  • Hongsong Chen,
  • Yusong Deng

摘要

Background and aim

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are critical contributors to the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in fragile ecosystems, though how they drive carbon sequestration in lithologically complex karst remains unclear.

Methods

This study investigated moss-dominated biocrusts and their underlying soils derived from dolomite and clastic rocks in the karst region of Southwest China, analyzing the distribution characteristics and internal mechanism of SOC and its fractions across different coverage levels.

Results

The results showed that: (1) Lithology significantly influenced moss biocrust development, with clastic-derived biocrusts exhibiting greater thickness and biomass than dolomite. (2) The content and stock of SOC and its fractions were higher in dolomite, while clastic rocks were more responsive to increased biocrust coverage, with the increments in total organic carbon (TOC) content and stock (TOCs) at high coverage (80–100%) being 2.00- and 2.11-fold greater than in dolomite. (3) Biocrust development increased contributions of > 2 mm aggregates to TOC and its fractions. The content of Polysaccharide-C was dominant in both lithologies, high-coverage biocrusts significantly increased Phenolic-C and Aromatic-C content. (4) Lithology directly regulated SOC functional groups and fraction contents, while biocrusts directly improved soil particle composition and enhanced TOC and its fractions significantly, driving TOC and its fractions to directly and positively affect TOCs (λ = 0.851, P < 0.01).

Conclusion

SOC sequestration is influenced by the synergy of lithology and biocrust, where under lithological constraints, biocrust directly contributes to accumulating carbon fractions and improving soil structure, forming a critical pathway for carbon sink formation in karst ecosystems.