The effects of grazing management on biocrust microbiomes

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a common feature of dryland ecosystems and comprise diverse microbial communities that help mediate ecosystem services. In grazed arid and semi-arid rangelands, biocrusts play a particularly prominent role in replenishing nitrogen incorporated into livestock. Hence, understanding how grazing management impacts their diversity and coverage can help inform best practice. Here, we applied shotgun metagenomics to investigate the impacts of grazing treatments on the diversity and potential function of biocrust bacterial communities.