Multiscale Impacts of Cyanobacterial Crusts: Soil Stability Lab Experiments

Data from laboratory experiments conducted as part of NERC grant NE/K011464/1, associated with project NE/K011626/1. The dataset contains measurements from simulated rainfall experiments on soils from eastern Australia, comparing surfaces with and without cyanobacterial crusts. Variables measured include soil texture, penetrometry, salinity, splash loss, infiltration, organic matter content, occurrence of ponding, and three-dimensional topography.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil surface roughness changes based on three-dimensional topography data.
• Analyzing the impact of cyanobacterial crusts on splash erosion based on splash loss measurements.
• Studying physical crust formation and infiltration rates under simulated rainfall.
• Comparing soil stability responses between clay and sandy soils with and without biocrusts.

Strengths

• Experimental design includes controlled rainfall applications at 60 mm hr-1 for specific durations.
• Direct comparison of two soil types (#13 DL Clay_cyano and #14 DL sand_cyano) with and without cyanobacterial crusts.
• Methods and context are documented in peer-reviewed publications (Bullard et al. 2018, 2019).

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Laboratory experiments with simulated rainfall on collected soils, with controlled drying cycles.

Time Range

Associated with projects NE/K011464/1 and NE/K011626/1; specific experiment dates not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-09 08:41:11.212482; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Soils collected from eastern Australia; experiments conducted at Griffith University, Queensland.