Effects of freeze–thaw cycles on the soil nutrient balances, infiltration, and stability of cyanobacterial soil crusts in northern China

• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-014-2263-x
• Publication Date: 2014-09-15T12:37:17Z
• Authors: Weibo Wang; Xiao Shu; Quanfa Zhang; René Guénon
• Keywords: FTCS scheme; Infiltration (HVAC)

Aims Freeze–thaw fluctuation is a natural phenomenon, which is frequently encountered by biological soil crusts (BSCs) in late autumn and early spring in cold deserts. The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of freeze–thaw cycles (FTCs) on the soil nutrient balances, infiltration, and stability of cyanobacterial soil crusts (CSCs) in the temperate desert region.