Development of artificial moss-dominated biological soil crusts and their effects on runoff and soil water content in a semi-arid environment

• Artificial culture of moss-dominated crusts is feasible in semi-arid environments.
• Artificial crusts reduced runoff by 27% (16.3 mm) in the first three years.
• Artificial crusts increased surface soil moisture but decreased deep soil moisture.
• The effects almost increased linearly with time and soil depth.
• Artificial crusts can be used to control soil and water loss in semi-arid regions.

Artificial biological soil crusts (hereafter ‘crusts’) are promising candidates for the control of soil and water loss in semi-arid ecosystems. However, their hydrological functions have not yet been sufficiently investigated. In this study, runoff plots were constructed in a semi-arid environment on the Loess Plateau of China, and moss-dominated crusts were later artificially cultured. The effects of the artificial crusts on runoff and soil water content (0–90 cm) over eight years (2005–2012) were determined, depending on the differences between the artificial crusts and no crusts. The results showed that (1) artificial moss-dominated crusts primarily developed after two years and fully formed after four years in the semi-arid environment; (2) artificial crusts reduced runoff by 27% in total in the first three years after the inoculation; (3) artificial crusts decreased soil water content, and this effect increased linearly with time; and (4) artificial crusts increased water content in the upper 20 cm of soils but reduced water content in deeper (>30 cm) soils. The results indicate that it is feasible to artificially culture moss-dominated crusts in semi-arid regions. However, artificial crusts only slightly improved surface soil water conditions and greatly impaired deeper soil water conditions.

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