Negative and positive effects of topsoil biological crusts on water availability along a rainfall gradient in a sandy arid area

Drylands are regarded as highly sensitive to climatic changes. A positive relationship between rainfall and environmental factors (water availability for plants, productivity, species diversity, etc.) is often assumed for areas with an annual rainfall of 100–300 mm. This assumption disregards the fact that a climatic change in arid and semi-arid areas is not limited to climatic factors. This change is often accompanied by a parallel change in surface properties. The alteration of surface properties may have opposite effects on the water regime and ecosystem characteristics. Data on rainfall, runoff, soil moisture regime, and vegetation cover were collected at five monitoring sites in a sandy area along the Israeli–Egyptian border, where average annual rainfall varies from 86 to 160 mm. Data obtained show a decrease in water availability for perennial plants with increasing annual rainfall, clearly expressed by a lower survival of perennial plants in the wetter area. Results obtained cast doubt of the prevailing idea regarding the positive relationship between average annual rainfall and ecosystem characteristics. The findings are attributed to the decisive role played by the non-uniform properties of the topsoil biological crusts along the rainfall gradient considered. Under wetter conditions a thick topsoil biological crust develops. This crust is able to absorb large rain amounts, limiting thus the depth of rainwater infiltration and water availability for the perennial vegetation. A better water regime was found in the drier area, where a thin crust allows deeper water infiltration and water concentration by surface runoff. The process described may be regarded as a desertification process with increasing annual rainfall.