Don't bust the biological soil crust: Preserving and restoring an important desert resource

Sue Miller; Steve D. Warren; Larry St. Clair

Treesearch

Don't bust the biological soil crust: Preserving and restoring an important desert resource

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Sue Miller, Steve D. Warren, Larry St. Clair

Year:

2017

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 23. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 10 p.

Download (PDF 5.66 MB)

Download (PDF 5.66 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/53680.pdf

Abstract

Biological soil crusts are a complex of microscopic organisms growing on the soil surface in many arid and semi-arid ecosystems. These crusts perform the important role of stabilizing soil and reducing or eliminating water and wind erosion. One of the largest threats to biological soil crusts in the arid and semi-arid areas of the western United States is mechanical disturbance from vehicle traffic and grazing. The spread of the annual invasive cheatgrass has increased the fuel load in areas that previously would not carry a fire, posing a potentially widespread and new threat to this resource.

Keywords

Science You Can Use, SYCU, biological soil crust, semi-arid ecosystems, arid ecosystems, grazing, off-road vehicles, restoration

Citation

Miller, Sue; Warren, Steve; St. Clair, Larry. 2017. Don't bust the biological soil crust: Preserving and restoring an important desert resource. Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 23. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 10 p.