Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Bacterial Community Assembly and Co-Occurrence Patterns in Biological Soil Crusts of Desert Ecosystems.

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) play a fundamental role in desert ecosystems by stabilizing soil, cycling nutrients, and retaining moisture. However, the assembly processes governing bacterial communities within BSCs remain largely unknown. This study aimed to reveal the spatiotemporal variations in the bacterial community diversity, co-occurrence patterns, and ecological assembly processes of BSCs and their underlying soils across different desert and seasonal conditions.