2013 for recent reviews) Research on all aspects of biocrust bio

2013 for recent reviews). Research on all aspects of biocrust biology and their influence on ecosystems, traditionally Selleck 5-Fluoracil performed by researchers in a few countries, such as the USA, Australia, Israel, and Germany has become a truly global research endeavor, with the emergence of many groups in countries such as China, Spain, and Mexico (Castillo-Monroy and Maestre 2011). The biocrust research community is more interconnected than ever before, as evidenced by {Selleck Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Selleck Antidiabetic Compound Library|Selleck Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Selleck Antidiabetic Compound Library|Selleckchem Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Selleckchem Antidiabetic Compound Library|Selleckchem Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Selleckchem Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library|buy Anti-diabetic Compound Library|Anti-diabetic Compound Library ic50|Anti-diabetic Compound Library price|Anti-diabetic Compound Library cost|Anti-diabetic Compound Library solubility dmso|Anti-diabetic Compound Library purchase|Anti-diabetic Compound Library manufacturer|Anti-diabetic Compound Library research buy|Anti-diabetic Compound Library order|Anti-diabetic Compound Library mouse|Anti-diabetic Compound Library chemical structure|Anti-diabetic Compound Library mw|Anti-diabetic Compound Library molecular weight|Anti-diabetic Compound Library datasheet|Anti-diabetic Compound Library supplier|Anti-diabetic Compound Library in vitro|Anti-diabetic Compound Library cell line|Anti-diabetic Compound Library concentration|Anti-diabetic Compound Library nmr|Anti-diabetic Compound Library in vivo|Anti-diabetic Compound Library clinical trial|Anti-diabetic Compound Library cell assay|Anti-diabetic Compound Library screening|Anti-diabetic Compound Library high throughput|buy Antidiabetic Compound Library|Antidiabetic Compound Library ic50|Antidiabetic Compound Library price|Antidiabetic Compound Library cost|Antidiabetic Compound Library solubility dmso|Antidiabetic Compound Library purchase|Antidiabetic Compound Library manufacturer|Antidiabetic Compound Library research buy|Antidiabetic Compound Library order|Antidiabetic Compound Library chemical structure|Antidiabetic Compound Library datasheet|Antidiabetic Compound Library supplier|Antidiabetic Compound Library in vitro|Antidiabetic Compound Library cell line|Antidiabetic Compound Library concentration|Antidiabetic Compound Library clinical trial|Antidiabetic Compound Library cell assay|Antidiabetic Compound Library screening|Antidiabetic Compound Library high throughput|Anti-diabetic Compound high throughput screening| the multiple collaborations

that are being established among the different groups, by the ongoing preparation of a new book on the status of the field featuring authors from all the continents (Weber et al. 2014), and by the recent establishment of an international series of conferences focusing on biocrusts. The second of these conferences, “Second International Workshop on Biological Soil Cruts: Biological Soil Crusts in a Changing World (Biocrust 2013)” took place in Madrid on 10–13 Apoptosis inhibitor June 2013. This meeting brought together over 100 researchers from all the continents, who shared during 3 days the results of the most recent research on this ecosystem, and had the opportunity to discuss the status of basic and applied research on biocrusts, and further to start new research initiatives and collaborations to further develop this field further. This special issue includes 13 reviews and primary research articles that derive from communications presented

at the Biocrust 2013 conference, and that reflect the wide variety of topics that biocrust researchers are studying worldwide. The amount of information on biocrusts and their effects on ecosystems currently available has recently fostered their use to test ecological theories, particularly at community Baricitinib and ecosystem levels (see Bowker et al. 2010a; Maestre et al. 2012 for examples). In the first article of this issue, Bowker et al. (2014) review how biocrusts can be used as a model system in community, landscape, and ecosystem ecology. These authors discuss the main features of biocrusts that make them such a useful model system to study multiple

topics in these disciplines, and exemplify how the use of biocrusts in this way can provide novel insights and refine existing theory. Büdel et al. (2014) present the European research initiative ‘‘Soil Crust International’’ (SCIN; http://​www.​soil-crust-international.​org/​), a project focusing on the biodiversity of biocrusts and on functional aspects in their specific environments in four sites located along a wide European gradient (Tabernas, Spain; Hochtor-Großglockner, Austria; Gynge Alvar, Sweden; and Homburg, Germany). In this article, the authors present some preliminary results from the project, which already point out the importance of protecting biocrusts and the development of appropriate ways to manage the biodiversity of these communities along the latitudinal and altitudinal gradient studied.

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