Controls of biological soil crust cover and composition shift with succession in sagebrush shrub-steppe

► High elevation and bryophyte cover favor early succession lichen cover. ► Elevation and bryophyte cover negatively affect late succession lichen cover. ► Bromus tectorum negatively affects lichen cover in both stages. ► Small species are indicators of early succession, complex forms are indicators of late. ► Elevation and vegetation type affect BSC composition differently than cover.