Sandra Kammann

• Dr. rer. nat.
• University of Rostock

Biological soil crusts are integral to Arctic ecosystems, playing a crucial role in primary production, nitrogen fixation and nutrient cycling, as well as maintaining soil stability. However, the composition and complex relationships between the diverse organisms within these biocrusts are not well studied. This study investigates how the microbial...

Biological soil crusts are integral to Arctic ecosystems, playing a crucial role in primary production, nitrogen fixation and nutrient cycling, as well as maintaining soil stability. However, the composition and complex relationships between the diverse organisms within these biocrusts are not well studied. This study investigates how microbial com...

Harsh environmental conditions form habitats colonized by specialized primary microbial colonizers, e.g., biological soil crusts (biocrusts). These cryptogamic communities are well studied in drylands but much less in temperate coastal dunes, where they play a crucial role in ecological functions. Following two dune chronosequences, this study high...

Terrestrial diatoms are widespread in a large variety of habitats and are regularly recorded in biocrusts. Although diatoms have long been known to live in terrestrial habitats, only a few studies have focused on their diversity of ecophysiology. Here we present a study on the ecophysiological performance of five terrestrial diatom cultures from bi...

Simple Summary This publication focuses on a comparative biodiversity survey of cryptogamic covers along a dune chronosequence in the Baltic Sea compared to an inland dune in northern Germany. Following these gradients, the cryptogamic vegetation accumulated more and more biomass and nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus). Further, a habitat-...

Mangrove forests and seagrass meadows provide critical ecosystem services, including the accumulation of “blue carbon.” Plants' functional traits could influence this blue carbon accumulation. To test for interactions among functional traits and blue carbon accumulation, we conducted a study in connected mangrove‐seagrass coastal ecosystems in sout...

Aim Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are autonomous ecosystems consisting of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms growing on the topsoil. They colonize global climatic zones, including temperate dunes. This study examines changes in the community structure of biocrust phototrophic organisms along a dune chronosequence at the Baltic Sea compa...