Shrubs promote the early‐stage development of moss crusts by regulating the soil surface microenvironment in dryland ecosystems

Abstract Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are crucial for maintaining ecosystem health and stability in drylands. Although artificial restoration emerged as a viable strategy for biocrust rehabilitation, the role of vascular plants, which are of great concern in this process, was rarely studied. This study analysed the effects of shrubs ( Caragana korshinskii ) with four phenotypic traits on the early‐stage development of artificial moss crusts in the Loess Plateau region of China. The experiment lasted 4 months, including 1 month of artificial cultivation period (ACP) after inoculation and 3 months of natural development period (NDP). We monitored the microenvironment under the canopy and measured the density and coverage of the moss in the northwest (NW) and southeast (SE) during both the ACP and NDP. The results show that: (1) Shrubs provide suitable microenvironmental conditions for the early‐stage development of moss crusts through the shading effect of their canopies. (2) The promoting effect of shrubs on the early‐stage development of moss crusts depends on the direction and phenotypic traits. Four months after inoculation, the densities of moss in the NW, SE and control treatments were 22.9, 14.9 and 7.6 plants·cm −2 , and the corresponding coverages were 57.2%, 27.8% and 15.0%, respectively. (3) Compared to ACP, shrubs under various treatments showed more pronounced effects on moss development during NDP, with moss density and coverage increased by 0.4–1.7 and 0.8–1.5 times, respectively. Synthesis and applications . This study provided valuable insights into the restoration of shrub‐grass communities in drylands. By utilizing the suitable microenvironment provided by the shrubs and combining it with artificial cultivation measures such as shading net coverage and watering, the development speed of artificial moss crusts can be effectively improved. The research results have application potential in the rapid restoration of damaged ecosystems such as mine wastelands and overgrazed areas. However, simultaneous inoculation of shrub seedlings and mosses may not achieve the effect of rapid restoration. It is recommended that differentiated biocrust management strategies be adopted during dryland restoration, based on the carrying capacity of the water resources.