The vegetation is dominated by a coverage of biocrusts of up to 90 %. Various crust types and local differences between the species composition indicate that microclimatic factors have a significant influence on the community. A high biodiversity (117 algal species in total) was ascertained. The phosphorus storage and mobilization was linked with the occurrence and development of biocrusts. It was proven that the key species were desiccation tolerant and the optimum growth temperature was about 20 °C. Therefore, they are able to survive changing conditions due to the climate change.<eng>
