The human skin is an important part of a body’s ability to protect itself and to heal.
Turns out, the same is true of the Earth .
Biocrust is a kind of “living skin” made up of tiny organisms including lichen, masses, cyanobacteria and microbes. It helps ecosystems adapt to or recover from changing environmental conditions. It is also prevalent in environments that are tough for plants to inhabit. For the first time, a new research project from NAU aims to better understand the determinants and outcomes of biocrust biodiversity throughout the world.
“Ecosystems around the world are being pushed by global change factors such as climate change or disturbance associated with human land use,” said Matthew Bowker, a professor in the School of Forestry, associate director of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss) and principal investigator on the project, which is funded by a National Science Foundation grant. “We lack a coherent understanding of what makes an ecosystem able to resist changing due to climate or land use change, or help ecosystems recover after being exposed to stressful new conditions.”
Bowker, along with co-PIs Anita Antoninka, assistant research professor in the School of Forestry and Javier Ceja Navarro, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Ecoss, are creating CrustNet, a networked, distributed study of biocrust ecology with participants from throughout the world. The concept is simple: Every researcher will conduct the same set of studies and collect the same types of data, all of which will be pooled to create an unprecedented global database of biocrust information.
The project will address:
- What factors influence the biodiversity of biocrusts throughout the world
- What factors affect the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function
- The effects of biocrust biodiversity on an ecosystem’s resistance and resilience to physical disturbance and climate change
What this means for Arizona
Everything, Bowker said. Most of the state is potential biocrust habitat, and a healthy biocrust could be crucially important in addressing Arizona’s environmental problems. A well-developed biocrust could help prevent wind erosion—thus reducing dust storms—or protect burned forests from water erosion, reducing flooding and aiding in ecosystem recovery. Moreover, a healthy biocrust will help fight invasive grasses that are fueling large wildfires in the Sonoran Desert; in other research, Bowker and his team are “planting” biocrust into these ecosystems.
“Biocrusts are crucially important for helping support the ecosystems they inhabit, for example making soil fertile, storing or redirecting water, stopping erosion and shaping the communities of vascular plants and soil microbes,” he said. “Also, biocrusts are just really cool if you take the time to look closely—some are colorful, resembling coral reefs on land; others create craggy shapes on the soil surface reminiscent of Gothic architecture; still others are impressive in terms of how much area they can cover.”
What comes next
This research will provide a way for scientists to better predict the outcomes of climate and land use changes for biocrusts and, indirectly, for people who live in and rely on biocrust-rich ecosystems. Creating these datasets from systems around the world will bring in an unprecedented number of scientists, including early-career researchers and students, offering them opportunities for projects and publications that they might not get otherwise. It’s also the kind of worldwide but individualized research collaboration needed to tackle global challenges associated with climate change, the researchers said.
Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
(928) 8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu