Vascular plants promote moss crust restoration by softening the microenvironment near soil surface in dryland ecosystems

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial for maintaining the ecosystem health and stability in drylands. Although artificial restoration has emerged as a viable strategy for biocrust rehabilitation, the role of vascular plants, which is of great concern in this process, has rarely been studied. This study analyzed the effects of plants (Caragana korshinskii) with four phenotypic traits on the restoration of artificial moss crusts in the Loess Plateau region of China. We monitored the microenvironment under the canopy and measured moss plant density and coverage in the northwest (NW) and southeast (SE) orientations during both artificial cultivation and natural development periods. Our key findings were as follows: (1) Plants significantly reduced wind speed, soil temperature (ST), and soil water loss rate (SMLR) while extending the suitable durations of optimal temperature and moisture conditions for moss growth during daylight hours (p < 0.05). (2) Plant cover promoted moss cr..., , , # Data from: Vascular plants promote moss crust restoration by softening the microenvironment near soil surface in dryland ecosystems [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qz612jmsp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qz612jmsp) ## Description of the data and file structure Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial for maintaining the ecosystem health and stability in drylands. Although artificial restoration has emerged as a viable strategy for biocrust rehabilitation, the role of vascular plants, which is of great concern in this process, has rarely been studied. This study analyzed the effects of plants (*Caragana korshinskii*) with four phenotypic traits on the restoration of artificial moss crusts in the Loess Plateau region of China. We monitored the microenvironment under the canopy and measured moss plant density and coverage in the northwest (NW) and southeast (SE) orientations during both artificial cultivation and natural development periods. ## Description of the figures **Fig...,