Ground-truthing an easy guide to biocrust morphogroups
Land and resource managers are increasingly aware of the contribution of biocrusts to ecological functions and have expressed interest in training and resources to recognize biocrusts in the field. This knowledge will help enable managers to address biocrusts in carrying out analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
WERC scientists have drafted a single page, easy guide to biocrust morphogroups, with the goal of making the identification and categorization of biocrusts more accessible. The current version of the guide focuses on examples from Great Basin, USA, but has the potential to be used in other similar arid and semi-arid environments. This product will enable resource management agencies, e.g., the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to be strategic and efficient in prioritizing management efforts that may or may not impact biocrusts by increasing their ability to identify and monitor these important organisms on potential project sites.
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a community of living organisms, including moss, lichen, and algae, that cover soils in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, and provide important ecological functions like soil stabilization and the inhibition of invasive plants. The impacts of fire are likely to be less severe where invasive plants are reduced and biocrusts are abundant. Biocrusts also support public health by being associated with reduced dust emissions, including areas where dust carries Valley Fever. These organisms can thrive under drought conditions and help intact ecosystems be more resilient to drought.
Research Objectives
Our objectives are to meet the needs of practitioners looking to increase their ability to identify biocrusts in the field and categorize them into ecologically meaningful groups. The guide itself is a tool that anyone can take with them into the field and work through with samples to arrive at an identification. By testing the guide, we will also have a sense of the accuracy with which people may correctly identify any particular biocrust group.
Methods
The guide was originally drafted by Dr. Lea Condon. Existing dichotomous keys and guides were consulted, and additions were made by others. Dr. Condon lead a team that tested the guide in the field over the last several years, visiting BLM Offices and FWS Refuges across the Great Basin.
We anticipate that a draft of the guide will be publicly available before the end of the FY 25. Once the guide is available, we plan to hold training sessions with the guide and record a webinar to support use of the guide in the field.
Funders
U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Land and resource managers are increasingly aware of the contribution of biocrusts to ecological functions and have expressed interest in training and resources to recognize biocrusts in the field. This knowledge will help enable managers to address biocrusts in carrying out analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
WERC scientists have drafted a single page, easy guide to biocrust morphogroups, with the goal of making the identification and categorization of biocrusts more accessible. The current version of the guide focuses on examples from Great Basin, USA, but has the potential to be used in other similar arid and semi-arid environments. This product will enable resource management agencies, e.g., the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to be strategic and efficient in prioritizing management efforts that may or may not impact biocrusts by increasing their ability to identify and monitor these important organisms on potential project sites.
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a community of living organisms, including moss, lichen, and algae, that cover soils in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, and provide important ecological functions like soil stabilization and the inhibition of invasive plants. The impacts of fire are likely to be less severe where invasive plants are reduced and biocrusts are abundant. Biocrusts also support public health by being associated with reduced dust emissions, including areas where dust carries Valley Fever. These organisms can thrive under drought conditions and help intact ecosystems be more resilient to drought.
Research Objectives
Our objectives are to meet the needs of practitioners looking to increase their ability to identify biocrusts in the field and categorize them into ecologically meaningful groups. The guide itself is a tool that anyone can take with them into the field and work through with samples to arrive at an identification. By testing the guide, we will also have a sense of the accuracy with which people may correctly identify any particular biocrust group.
Methods
The guide was originally drafted by Dr. Lea Condon. Existing dichotomous keys and guides were consulted, and additions were made by others. Dr. Condon lead a team that tested the guide in the field over the last several years, visiting BLM Offices and FWS Refuges across the Great Basin.
We anticipate that a draft of the guide will be publicly available before the end of the FY 25. Once the guide is available, we plan to hold training sessions with the guide and record a webinar to support use of the guide in the field.
Funders
U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.