The authors compared cryptogamic crust recovery after 7 years of grazing exclusion with a similar area which had been ungrazed for 20 years. The soil characteristics, living algae, subfossil diatoms, lichen and moss, and vascular plant cover were compared between the two sites. The algae and diatom communities were not significantly different between the two sites, showing that those portions of the cryptogamic community can recover in 7 years. However, the lichen and moss communities were different between sites, with lower levels of most species in the 7 year site. A greater cover of vascular plants was observed in the 20 year site, although this may have been due to temporal differences in sampling. Overall, the cryptogamic community had partially recovered in the 7 years without grazing, although the authors caution that the several years before the study were unusually wet, possibly increasing the recovery rate.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.