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. 2015 Sep 11;6:692. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00692

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Copyright © 2015 Pointing, Büdel, Convey, Gillman, Körner, Leuzinger and Vincent.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Microclimate dynamics for cryptogamic photoautotrophs. Biological soil crusts and endolithic colonization form extensive near-surface biological covers in polar regions that define the critical zone of biological activity and the dry limit for photoautotrophic colonization on Earth (Pointing and Belnap, 2012). They occur in regions where precipitation is insufficient to sustain higher plant life. Their source of moisture arises from the creation of a substrate-air thermal gradient that supports dew/rime formation (Büdel et al., 2008; Büdel and Colesie, 2014). During periods of high sun angle (daytime) thawing of permafrost and soil water releases water to the critical zone (A), when the sun is at a low angle (night) the thermal differential between substrate and air results in dew formation (B).