Nature Briefs

 UTAH

Biocrust is the desert’s skin—a complex community of lichens, mosses and cyanobacteria that lives on the surface of dryland soils. It plays an important role in sustaining desert ecosystems: Healthy biocrusts retain moisture and stabilize the soil, reduce erosion, prevent dust storms, and boost soil fertility by collecting carbon and nitrogen. But these beneficial communities are also sensitive to disturbance and highly vulnerable to a warming climate.

In an initiative led by Dr. Sasha Reed of the U.S. Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy and its partners have successfully farmed biocrust—a first step in efforts to increase the pace and scale of restoration activities. Beginning in 2017, biocrust harvested from areas slated for development was transplanted and propagated at a first-of-its-kind farm near Moab. The crusts were then collected in packages—like sod—and rolled out over restoration sites at the Canyonlands Research Center at TNC’s Dugout Ranch and other sites in the southeastern corner of the state. While it may take several years for the biocrust to grow, the potential of this project is promising. “If we succeed, it would be a significant advance in our ability to help resource managers bring back biocrust communities,” Sasha notes. “People would be able to grow biocrust without disturbing much land ... and open a really exciting pathway for restoring much larger areas.”