Stratified Biocrust Data for Metal Immobilization in Humid Mining Regions

Biological soil crust data from humid mining regions investigates vertical stratification of microbial communities and their role in metal(loid) immobilization. The dataset, 24.1 KB in size, was authored by Zekai Feng and uploaded to figshare in April 2026. It integrates physicochemical characterization with bioinformatic analysis of biocrust layers.

Use Cases

• Analyze microbial community stratification by comparing Cyanobacteria and SWB02 abundance in the photoautotrophic layer versus Bacteroidota and Desulfobacterota in the heterotrophic layer.
• Model the relationship between clay-silt enrichment (2.8-fold higher than bare tailings) and extracellular polysaccharide accumulation (18-fold) in the upper oxygen barrier.
• Investigate sulfidogenic potential by examining gene enrichment data for hydB (17.4-fold) and phsC (3.4-fold) in the lower biocrust layer.
• Correlate the presence of Gammaproteobacteria with iron-manganese oxide immobilization processes confined to the photoautotrophic layer.
• Study sulfur speciation data, where sulfur occurred exclusively as sulfides at 5 cm depth in underlying tailings.

Strengths

• Data reveals specific fold-change metrics for key processes, such as 18-fold polysaccharide accumulation and 17.4-fold hydB gene enrichment.
• Distinguishes between two functionally distinct biocrust layers: the upper photoautotrophic layer and lower heterotrophic layer.

Limitations

• The dataset is very small at 24.1 KB, indicating limited sample size and scope for statistical modeling.
• The exact number of samples, rows, or measurement replicates is unknown, limiting reproducibility assessments.
• Geographic specificity is unclear beyond 'humid mining regions', introducing potential bias for general application.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Zekai Feng.

Collection Method

Integrated physicochemical characterization with bioinformatic analysis of biocrust samples.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026, indicating recent data.

Geography

Humid mining regions (specific location not stated).