Educational Bulletin #15-1

A publication of the Desert Protective Council protectdeserts.org

Biological Soil Crusts Webs of Life in the Desert

by Jayne Belnap

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. Photo by Terry Weiner

What and Where Are Biological Soil Crusts?

Although the soil surface may look like dirt to you,
it is full of living organisms that are a vital part of desert
ecosystems. This veneer of life is called a biological soil
crust. These crusts are found throughout the world, from
hot deserts to polar regions. Crusts generally cover all soil
spaces not occupied by green plants. In many areas, they
comprise over 70% of the living ground cover and are
key in reducing erosion, increasing water retention, and
increasing soil fertility. In most dry regions, these crusts
are dominated by cyanobacteria (previously called bluegreen algae), which are one of the oldest known life forms.

Communities of soil crusts also include lichens, mosses,

microfungi, bacteria, and green algae.
These living organisms and their by-products create
a continuous crust on the soil surface. The general color,
surface appearance, and amount of coverage of these crusts
vary depending on climate and disturbance patterns.
Immature crusts are generally flat and the color of the
soil, which makes them difficult to distinguish from bare
ground. Mature crusts, in contrast, are usually bumpy and
dark-colored due to the presence of lichens, mosses, and
high densities of cyanobacteria and other organisms.

Biological Soil Crust in low Colorado Desert, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Photo by Terry Weiner

Erosion Control

The organisms in crusts protect soil from erosion in a

variety of ways. Some organisms, such as cyanobacteria
and microfungi, protect themselves from sharp sand grains
by secreting sticky mucilage around their cells. These
microbes move through the soil when moistened, leaving
the mucilage behind as a trail. These mucilage trails glue soil
particles in place. Mosses and
lichens function a bit differently.
They cover and protect the soil
surface as they grow in place,
but they also have small rootlike anchoring structures that
penetrate into the soil surface.
The soil-binding action of crusts
is not completely dependent on
the presence of living organisms.
Layers of abandoned material,
built up over long periods of time, can still be found
clinging tenaciously to soil particles at depths greater than

four inches (10 cm) in some soils.

Soil loss due to rainfall and water movement is increased
when cyanobacterial connections are broken. This is
particularly problematic when the impact is in a continuous
strip, such as a vehicle or bicycle track, because channels for
water flow are quickly formed, especially on slopes.

Left: Filamentous cyanobacteria migrating out of sheaths at 950X.

Right: Cyanobacterial sheath clinging to sand grains at 90X.

Water Retention

Soil crusts are important in the absorption of rainfall.

Compressional stress caused by vehicle tires.

Human Impacts

Close up of Biological Desert Soil Crust.

This function is especially important in arid areas that

experience sporadic, heavy rainfall. When it rains, the
organisms and their mucilage absorb up to ten times their
volume in water and then release the water slowly into the
soil once the rain ends. In cold areas, biologically crusted
soils frost-heave in winter and create a roughened surface.
The roughness slows rainwater runoff, which increases
water infiltration into the soil.

Soil Health

Crust organisms contribute nutrients and organic

matter to desert soils. Because plant cover is sparse, crusts
are an important
source of organic
matter for desert
soils. Organic matter
is an important food
source for organisms
that live below the
soil surface and who
help keep nutrients
available for plants by
decomposing
plant
litter. Cyanobacteria
and
cyanolichens
contribute nitrogen
to soils, which is
especially important
in desert ecosystems where nitrogen often limits plant
growth. Indirect benefits to soil health also are evident.
Small soil particles often stick to trails of microbial
mucilage. Soil nutrients bind to these small particles and
are then available to plants. One additional benefit of crusts
is that cyanobacteria secrete compounds that stimulate
plant growth.

Many human activities are harmful to biological crusts.

The crusts are no match for the compressional stress caused
by footprints of livestock and people or by the tires of
vehicles. Because most living crust biomass is concentrated
in the top 1/8th inch (3 mm) of the soil, even small impacts
can have profound consequences. Crushed crusts contribute
less nitrogen and organic matter to the ecosystem and the
soils are left highly susceptible to both wind and water
erosion.
Blowing sediment from disturbed areas can cover nearby
healthy crusts. Burial can mean death because crustal
organisms need sunlight to live. In addition sand carried by
wind sandblasts nearby crusts and plants, greatly increasing
the erosive action of the wind. Windborne air pollutants
from nearby urban areas and coal-fired power plants also
damage crusts.

Recovery
Even a single footprint has a long-lasting effect on
desert ecosystems: nitrogen fixation stops, and underlying
soil connections are broken. Damage done to material
underneath the surface cannot be repaired because the living
organisms are only on the surface. Under good conditions,
a thin veneer of cyanobacteria may return in five years.
Recovery may take up to 20 years in places of higher rainfall
and up to 250 years in places of lower rainfall, assuming an
area is not again disturbed.

Crushed crusts are left highly susceptible to both wind and water
erosion. Any impact can have profound consequences.

What Can You Do to Preserve a Healthy

Desert Ecosystem?
Biking and Driving: Stay on established roads and trails.
Protect trailside vegetation and soils by searching for wide
areas of slickrock when passing. At trailheads, do not go
beyond piles of rock or fences. These have been placed to
prevent further damage.
Camping: Use designated sites whenever possible.
Otherwise set up camp in areas where living crusts do not
form, such as slickrock, sandy beaches, or under groves of
trees.
Hiking: Stay on established trails. Where trails do not
exist, hike in washes or on rocks. Consider volunteering for
trail-maintenance crews and learn techniques for repairing
unmaintained trails.

Photo courtesy of USGS

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Article reprinted courtesy of USGS, Bureau of Land

Management, and National Park Services.

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Footnote from Terry Weiner: Decades ago, when Dr.

Belnap was in the early stages of her BSC research, the most
modern, and arguably the most broadly destructive impact
to befall soil crusts in the desert, had not yet begun. It is
horrifying to contemplate the impact of scraping the topsoil off hundreds of thousands of acres of southwestern
deserts for the installation of large-scale solar energy projects.
Biological soil crust is a building block for plant and animal
life. Not only does it help maintain soil nutrients; it helps
keep the soil from releasing carbon, a prime greenhouse gas.
Loss of soil crust is one of the dozens of reasons why the DPC
supports local rooftop solar energy production and opposes
remote energy industrialization on our public lands.
During the decades since Dr. Belnap composed this
article, the population of desert campers has grown,
plus todays campers typically bring more sophisticated
equipment, making their camping footprint much heavier.
Because of this, camping on slickrock, sandy beaches
adjacent to desert rivers, or under trees is not advised. If
you do not like to camp in developed campsites, please
camp within a hundred feet of the thousands of miles of
dirt roads in the desert.

Jayne Belnap has been a scientist with the Department

of Interior since 1987. She received her two undergraduate
degrees (in biology and natural history) from the University
of California, Santa Cruz in 1980; her Masters of Science
(Ecology Department) from Stanford University in 1983; and
her PhD (Botany and Range Department) from Brigham
Young University in 1991. Her dissertation explored the effects
of coal-fired power plants on the physiological functioning of
biological soil crusts and rock lichens. Over the past 20 years,
she has published 105 peer-reviewed articles and books on soil
crusts that include a BLM technical reference (co-authored
with 3 other BLM scientists) and the only comprehensive book
available on the topic. She is recognized by scientists around
the globe as one of the worlds authorities on soil crusts. Dr.
Belnap has been invited by many governments to train their
scientists in soil crust ecology, including those of South Africa,
Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, China, Siberia, Australia, and
Iceland. She travels extensively throughout the U. S., training
BLM, NPS, USFS, BIA, DoD, and DOE staff and managers on
management of soil crusts. She is past Chair of the Soil Ecology
chapter of the Ecological Society of America, as well as the Past
President of the Soil Ecology Society.