DNA from biocrust lichen-forming fungi reveals responses to wildfire and invasion
DNA sequencing comes in handy for identifying and monitoring tiny organisms--like the fungi that make up biocrusts--after wildfire.
Biocrusts are communities of organisms such as lichens, fungus, and bacteria, that live on the soil surface and help reduce erosion, increase soil moisture, and can prevent invasion by some exotic species like cheatgrass. Disturbances like wildfire can damage biocrusts, but monitoring biocrust lichen communities to understand disturbance impacts over large scales can be cost prohibitive. Researchers tested DNA metabarcoding—a DNA sequencing method that can distinguish between lichen species—as a potential tool for monitoring biocrust lichen communities at a site in Washington State that had already been surveyed visually. The sites included plots with a range of wildfire history and invasion by cheatgrass. The scientists saw a reduction of biocrust diversity and change in community composition related to cheatgrass invasion using both visual surveys and DNA metabarcoding. Combining the two methods appeared to be the best way to survey for biodiversity. DNA metabarcoding alone or combined with visual methods could be a useful tool for monitoring biocrust lichen and their response to disturbance, invasion, and potential restoration.
Root, H.T., McCune, B., Pyke, D.A., and Leavitt, S.D., 2025, DNA metabarcoding of biocrust lichen-forming fungi allows interpretation of ecological gradients: The Bryologist, v. 128, no. 1, p. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-128.1.001
