A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S. Drylands

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are commonly found on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems (collectively called drylands). Biocrusts can consist of mosses, cyanobacteria, lichens, algae, and microfungi, and they strongly interact with the soil. These organisms or consortium of disparate organisms, depending on the specific biocrust, are important to the functioning of ecosystems and to the organization of plant and soil communities. Crust composition......Page 4 Successional series......Page 5 Ecological function......Page 6 Lichen morphology......Page 7 Monitoring......Page 8 Crust morphology......Page 9 Monitoring BSCs using level of darkness......Page 10 Index......Page 1