Don't Bust the Crust

Biological soil crusts—mosses, lichens, and bacteria that live on the surface of dryland soils—perform crucial functions in desert ecosystems. Some species make nitrogen available for nearby plants. Others are huge carbon sinks. In this episode, Michala Phillips, a postdoctoral researcher at the Southwest Biological Science Center, explains how drought, temperature increases, and physical disturbances threaten the survival of these organisms.