Species richness and abundance patterns of microarthropods on cryptobiotic crusts in a piñon-juniper habitat: a call for greater knowledge

Cryptobiotic crusts are threatened in arid systems, where they make up as much as 70% of soil cover. Crusts may provide important resources to soil biota. We inventoried microarthropods and small macroarthropods in mossy crusts at two piñon-juniper sites in New Mexico over 1 year. Collections revealed 28 arthropod genera, which we compared to microfauna of Chihuahuan Desert (47 genera, 19% similarity) and shortgrass prairie (88 genera, 11% similarity), and four piñon-juniper locations (4–18 genera, 10–20% similarity). Richness and abundance increased significantly following winter precipitation. This fauna may be active when other arthropods are not, impacting nutrient cycling and productivity