TY - JOUR A1 - Jung, Patrick A1 - Baumann, Karen A1 - Emrich, Dina A1 - Springer, Armin A1 - Felde, Vincent J.M.N.L. A1 - Dultz, Stefan A1 - Baum, Christel A1 - Frank, Marcus A1 - Büdel, Burkhard A1 - Leinweber, Peter T1 - Lichens Bite the Dust – A Bioweathering Scenario in the Atacama Desert JF - iScience N2 - Bioweathering mediated by microorganisms plays a significant role in biogeo-chemical 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. KW - Earth sciences KW - Geomicrobiology KW - Earth-Surface Processes KW - Weathering KW - Biogeoscience Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101647 SN - 2589-0042 VL - 23 IS - 11 SP - 1 EP - 29 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jung, Patrick A1 - Lakatos, Michael A1 - Briegel-Williams, Laura A1 - Dultz, Stefan A1 - Neff, Carina A1 - Heibrock, Gunnar A1 - Monger, Curtis A1 - Pietrasiak, Nicole A1 - Keller, Lena A1 - Hale, Julia A1 - Friedek, Jan A1 - Schmidt, Timo A1 - Guggenberger, Georg T1 - Hard shell, soft blue-green core: Ecology, processes, and modern applications of calcification in terrestrial cyanobacteria N2 - Cyanobacteria are the oldest photoautotrophic lineage that release oxygen during photosynthesis, an ability that possibly evolved as far as 3.5 billion years ago and changed the Earth’s environment—both in water and on land. Linked to the mechanism of carbon accumulation by cyanobacteria during photosynthesis are their calcifying properties, a process of biologically mediated mineralization of CO 2 by precipitation with calcium to CaCO 3. In recent decades, scientific research has mainly focused on calcifying cyanobacteria from aquatic habitats, while their terrestrial relatives have been neglected. This review not only presents the ecology of terrestrial calcifying cyanobacteria in caves and biocrusts but also discusses recent biotechnological applications, such as the production of living building materials through microbial-induced carbonate precipitation for structural engineering, which has the potential to open a new and efficient pathway for mitigating climate change, e.g., as carbon capture and storage technology. KW - Geochemistry KW - Biogeochemistry KW - Ecology KW - Microbiology Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111280 VL - 2024 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -