Lichens Bite the Dust - A Bioweathering Scenario in the Atacama Desert

Patrick Jung; Karen Baumann; Dina Emrich; Armin Springer; Vincent J M N L Felde; Stefan Dultz; Christel Baum; Marcus Frank; Burkhard Büdel; Peter Leinweber

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101647

Lichens Bite the Dust - A Bioweathering Scenario in the Atacama Desert

iScience. 2020 Oct 7;23(11):101647. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101647. eCollection 2020 Nov 20.

Authors

Patrick Jung¹, Karen Baumann², Dina Emrich³, Armin Springer^{4

5}, Vincent J M N L Felde⁶, Stefan Dultz⁷, Christel Baum², Marcus Frank^{4

5}, Burkhard Büdel⁸, Peter Leinweber²

Affiliations

¹ Applied Logistics and Polymer Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Carl-Schurz-Straße 10-16, 66953 Pirmasens, Germany.
² Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Soil Science, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18051 Rostock, Germany.
³ University of Freiburg, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Chair of Applied Vegetation Ecology, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
⁴ Medical Biology and Electron Microscopy Centre, University Medicine Rostock, Strempelstraße 14, 18057 Rostock, Germany.
⁵ Department Life, Light and Matter, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock, Germany.
⁶ Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstr. 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
⁷ Institute of Soil Science, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany.
⁸ Plant Ecology and Systematics, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Abstract

Bioweathering mediated by microorganisms plays a significant role in biogeochemical cycles on global scales over geological timescales. Single processes induced by specific taxa have been described but could rarely be demonstrated for complex communities that dominate whole landscapes. The recently discovered grit crust of the coastal Atacama Desert, which is a transitional community between a cryptogamic ground cover and a rock-bound lithic assemblage, offers the unique chance to elucidate various bioweathering processes that occur simultaneously. Here, we present a bioweathering scenario of this biocenosis including processes such as penetration of the lithomatrix, microbial responses to wet-dry cycles, alkalinolysis, enzyme activity, and mineral re-localization. Frequently occurring fog, for example, led to a volume increase of microorganisms and the lithomatrix. This, together with pH shifts and dust accumulation, consequently results in biophysical breakdown and the formation of a terrestrial protopedon, an initial stage of pedogenesis fueled by the grit crust.

Keywords: Biogeoscience; Earth sciences; Earth-Surface Processes; Geomicrobiology; Weathering.