FIG 1.

Examples of biocrust and hypolith environments with moss or cyanobacteria as the dominant photoautotroph anchor. (A) Principle Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) ordination plots of (B) all samples, (C) biocrust samples, and (D) hypolith samples. In panel B, samples are colored according to environmental niche (blue, biocrust; red, hypolith; yellow, bare soil) and shaped by dominant primary producer (circle, cyanobacteria; triangle, moss). Panel C shows biocrust samples, which are colored by primary producer (blue, cyanobacteria; red, moss). Panel D shows hypolith samples, which are colored by the same scheme as in panel B.