Rangeland Ecology & Management

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EVIDENCE FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF BIOCRUSTS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN AND MOJAVE ECOREGIONS
Author
Condon, Lea A.
Pyke, David A.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

Although biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are known to occur globally in arid and semi-arid environments, the question arises as to if they occur in the Great Basin ecoregion. Most studies looking at these organisms in the Great Basin occur on the edges of region, with minimal work being done within the state of Nevada, the geographic core of the Great Basin. For this reason, we assess the presence of biocrusts in both the Great Basin and Mojave Desert ecoregions, addressing the unstudied area of Nevada in its entirety. We mapped the presence and absence of mosses and lichens across both regions using Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring Strategy data (AIM) from 3655 plots. AIM data is collected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to provide consistent data on core quantitative indicators of rangeland health on BLM lands, including basal ground cover provided by lichens and mosses. The observed occurrences of both organisms were mapped by Major Land Resource Area (MLRAs). Preliminary results show that mosses were observed on a greater proportion of plots within the more northern to easterly MLRAs: the Malheur High Plateau, Owyhee High Plateau, Snake River Plains and Great Salt Lake. Lichens were observed on a greater proportion of plots within the more centrally located MLRAs: the Central Nevada Basin and Range, Fallon-Lovelock and Humbolt Areas. The Mojave Desert and Southern Nevada Basin and Range MLRAs had the greatest proportion of plots without mosses or lichens. Globally, work on ecosystem function and recovery from disturbance incorporates the presence of biological soil crusts. Given our demonstration of the presence of biological soil crusts across the Great Basin and Mojave ecoregions, we hope to call attention to the need to include them in studies on ecosystem function, recovery from disturbance and restoration in these regions.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV