Official websites use .gov
A
.gov website belongs to an official
government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you've safely
connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive
information only on official, secure websites.
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) form miniature ecosystems. They are composed of photoautotrophic producers (i.e. cyanobacteria, algae, lichens, and bryophytes; shown in green), microfauna acting as consumers (i.e. protozoa, nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, and microarthropods; shown in blue), and decomposers (i.e. fungi, bacteria, and archaea; shown in red). Colouration of drawing by Renate Klein‐Rödder, originally published in Belnap & Lange (2003); courtesy of Springer.
