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CRUST IMAGES

DESERT CRUST IMAGES

A well-developed soil crust like this can take more than 100 years to develop, but is extremely vulnerable to trampling or damage by off-road vehicles. It contains a mixture of cyanobacteria, fungi, lichens and mosses. The mucilage secreted by cyanobacteria helps to bind soil particles, thereby preventing soil erosion by wind. These crusts also contribute significant amounts of nitrogen to the soil - partly as a result of the activities of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria but mainly (in the later stages of crust development) through the nitrogen-fixing activities of microscopic lichens. Well-structured crusts such as this can often aid water-penetration into the soil, but flatter crusts can actually impede water-penetration if the mucilage binds many silt particles at the soil surface.

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