Sally Thompson - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California. Li Chen - Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Center, Las Vegas, NV . Tal Svoray -  Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. Shai Sela -  School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-1901, USA. Gabriel Katul - Nicholas School of the Environment, Box 90328, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA 

Vegetation cover in dry regions is a key variable determining desertification. Bare soils exposed to rainfall by desertification can form physical crusts that reduce infiltration, exacerbating water stress on the remaining vegetation. Paradoxically, field studies show that crust removal is associated with plant mortality in desert systems, while artificial biological crusts can improve plant regeneration

from: EGU General Assembly 2016, held 17-22 April, 2016 in Vienna Austria, id. EPSC2016-3895