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Biological Soil Crusts:

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Title: Biological Soil Crusts:


1
Biological Soil Crusts An Emerging Restoration
Technology
Steven Paulsen Conservation Seeding
Restoration, Inc.
2
Biological Soil Crusts
  • Definition
  • Biological soil crusts are a matrix of organisms
    that co-occur on the soil surface and act to
    stabilize and protect the surface from erosion.

aka BSC, cryptobiotic soils, cryptogamic soils,
microphytic crusts, microbiotic crusts Physical
Crusts are NOT Biological Soil Crusts!
3
BSC Organisms
  • Cyanobacteria
  • Green algae
  • Lichens
  • Mosses
  • Microfungi
  • Bacteria

4
North American Distribution of BSC
  • Found in ecosystems ranging from alpine to desert
  • However, commonly occur and have most diverse
    communities in arid and semi-arid eco-regions
  • Occur in both hot and cool desert ecosystems

Belnap et al. 2001
5
BSC Ecology in Cold Deserts BSC are a major
component of the semi-arid ecosystem!
  • Found in the soil surface in the open spaces
    between higher plants.
  • May constitute as much as 70 of living cover.
  • Belnap 1994, Belnap et al. 2003

6
Macro-view of BSC
Biological soil crusts predominate the
interspaces of a sagebrush community in western
Wyoming.
Sagebrush
Bunchgrass
Shadscale
BSC
Forb
7
Belnap et al. 2001
Ecological Relationships for Biological Soil
Crusts
8
Ecological Roles of BSC
  • Photosynthetic organisms
  • Soil Fertility
  • nitrogen fixation dominant source of nitrogen
    for desert systems
  • carbon fixation
  • Soil hydrology
  • aids in soil aggregate formation, soil organic
    matter, water infiltration
  • Ecosystem resilience to invasion
  • inhibition of the germination of introduced
    annual grasses and weeds such as Bromus spp. and
    Salsola spp.
  • SOIL STABILITY AND PROTECTION!!!!
  • Belnap et al. 2001, Warren 2003, West 1990,
    Kaltenecker et al. 1999, Deines et al. 2007

9
BSC DisturbanceBSC are FRAGILE!
Soil surface disturbance damages BSC
  • Dirt work such as scraping, ripping stockpiling
    soil kills BSC.
  • Lower level disturbances including grazing,
    vehicle traffic, human animal traffic are
    detrimental to BSC.

Belnap et al. 2001
10
Sequence of BSC Species Re-colonization
Regeneration of BSC in Great Basin Deserts
Years to Recovery
Belnap and Eldridge 2003
11
Why Include BSC in Reclamation?
  • BSC are a major component of the ecosystem
  • Potential benefits of including BSC
  • Reduce time needed for reclamation
  • Reduce need for inputs (erosion control, soil
    nutrients and conditioners, etc.)
  • Reduce susceptibility to weed invasion
  • Decrease need for erosion control measures
  • Air quality improvement with soil stability

12
BSC and Oil Gas Reclamation
Wyoming Reclamation Policy, March 2009
  • Reclamation Goals
  • Short term goal immediately stabilize disturbed
    areas and provide conditions necessary to achieve
    the long term goal.
  • Long term goal facilitate eventual ecosystem
    reconstruction to maintain a safe and stable
    landscape and meet the desired outcomes of the
    land use plan.

13
Current Reclamation Criteria Goals Include
  • Erosion Control
  • Vegetation Cover
  • Vegetation Density
  • Species Diversity
  • Weed Composition
  • Plant Vigor
  • .Soil Health????

14
How to Include BSC in Reclamation?
  • Promote BSC Recovery
  • Manage or reduce disturbance regime
  • Traffic, grazing, erosion
  • Provide physical protection
  • Establish vegetation, mulches, rocks, Christmas
    trees
  • Create Microtopography
  • Nutrients
  • Inoculation
  • Patent pending technology being developed
  • (cooperative between CSR, Inc. and National
    Science Foundation).

15
Inoculation
  • Collect native sourced materials
  • Propagate
  • Application to disturbed soils

16
Preliminary Lab Trials
Soil aggregate stability (Herrick et al. 2001)
was analyzed 17 days after spray application of
cultured Microcoleus sp.
Mean soil stability of soil inoculated with 0, 1,
3, 5, 40, and 100 of naturally occurring BSC.
Error bars represent 1 SEM for soil samples
measured for aggregate stability.
17
The Future
  • Field trials begin fall 2010
  • Scale up field trials 2011
  • Interest in working with CSR, Inc. on this
    project please contact

Conservation Seeding Restoration, Inc. Steven
Paulsen steven_at_csr-inc.com (208) 423-4835
18
References
  • Belnap, J. 1994. Potential role of cryptobiotic
    soil crust in semiarid rangelands. In Monsen,
    S.B., and S.G. Kitchen, eds. ProceedingEcology
    and Management of Annual Rangelands. General
    Technical Report INT-GTR-313. USDA Forest
    Service, Intermountain Research, Ogden, UT. pp
    179-185.
  • Belnap, J., J. H. Kaltenecker, R. Rosentreter, J.
    Williams, S. Leonard, and D. Eldridge. 2001.
    Biological Soil Crusts Ecology and Management.
    Technical Reference 1730-2. United States
    Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land
    Management, Denver, Colorado.
  • Belnap, J., and D.J., Eldridge. 2003.
    Disturbance and recovery of biological soil
    crusts. In Belnap J. and O.L. Lange, eds.
    Biological soil crusts structure, function, and
    management. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York,
    pp 363-383.
  • Belnap J., R. Prasse, and K.T. Harper. 2003.
    Influence of biological soil crusts on soil
    environments and vascular plants. In Belnap J.,
    and O.L. Lange, eds. Biological soil crusts
    structure, function, and management. Springer,
    Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 281300.
  • Deines, L., R. Rosentreter, D.L. Eldrige, and
    M.D. Serpe. 2007. Germination and seeding
    establishment of two annual grasses on
    lichen-dominated biological soil crusts. Plant
    and Soil. 29523-35.
  • Herrick, J.E., W.G. Whitford, A.G. de Soyza, J.W.
    Van Zee, K.M. Havstad, C.A. Seybold, and M.
    Walton. 2001. Field soil aggregate stability kit
    for soil quality and rangeland health
    evaluations. Catena 44, 27-35.
  • Kaltenecker, J.H., M. Wicklow-Howard, and M.
    Pellant. 1999. Biological soil crusts natural
    barriers to Bromus tectorum L. establishment in
    the northern Great Basin, USA. In Eldridge, D.,
    and D. Freudenberger, eds. Proceedings of the VI
    International Rangeland Congress, Aitkenvale,
    Queensland, Australia. pp 109-111.
  • Warren, S.D. 2003. Synopsis Influence of
    biological soil crusts on arid land hydrology and
    soil stability. In Belnap J., and O.L. Lange,
    eds. Biological soil crusts structure, function,
    and management. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New
    York, pp 349-360.
  • West, N.E. 1990. Structure and function of soil
    microphytic crusts in wildland ecosystem of arid
    and semi-arid regions. Adv Ecol Res. 20179-223.
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