{"id":73773,"date":"2025-01-23T10:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T17:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=73773"},"modified":"2025-01-23T10:00:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T17:00:43","slug":"bowker-biocrust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/bowker-biocrust\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring biodiversity in the \u2018living skin\u2019 of Earth\u2019s ecosystems\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The human skin is an important part of a body\u2019s ability to protect itself and to heal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Turns out, the same is true of the Earth .<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Biocrust is a kind of \u201cliving skin\u201d made up of tiny organisms including lichen, masses, cyanobacteria and microbes. It helps ecosystems adapt to or recover from changing environmental conditions.\u202fIt 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.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cEcosystems around the world are being pushed by global change factors such as climate change or disturbance associated with human land use,\u201d said <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Matthew Bowker<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 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.\u202f\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bowker, along with co-PIs <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Anita Antoninka<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, assistant research professor in the School of Forestry and <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Javier Ceja Navarro<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 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.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The project will address:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What factors influence the biodiversity of biocrusts throughout the world<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What factors affect the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The effects of biocrust biodiversity on an ecosystem\u2019s resistance and resilience to physical disturbance and climate change<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What this means for Arizona<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Everything, Bowker said. Most of the state is potential biocrust habitat, and a healthy biocrust could be crucially important in addressing Arizona\u2019s environmental problems. A well-developed biocrust could help prevent wind erosion\u2014thus reducing dust storms\u2014or 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 \u201cplanting\u201d biocrust into these ecosystems.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cBiocrusts 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,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso, biocrusts are just really cool if you take the time to look closely\u2014some 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.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What comes next<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">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\u2019s also the kind of worldwide but individualized research collaboration needed to tackle global challenges associated with climate change, the researchers said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-56007\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/NAU_primary-281_3514-300x213.png\" alt=\"Northern Arizona University Logo\" width=\"148\" height=\"105\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2019\/06\/NAU_primary-281_3514-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2019\/06\/NAU_primary-281_3514-768x546.png 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2019\/06\/NAU_primary-281_3514-600x426.png 600w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2019\/06\/NAU_primary-281_3514.png 905w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 148px) 100vw, 148px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">Heidi Toth | NAU Communications<br \/>\n(928) 8737 | <a href=\"mailto:heidi.toth@nau.edu\">heidi.toth@nau.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/bowker-biocrust\/\">The human skin is an important part of a body\u2019s ability to protect itself and to heal.\u00a0 Turns out, the same is true of the Earth .\u00a0 Biocrust is a kind of \u201cliving skin\u201d made up of tiny organisms including lichen, masses, cyanobacteria and microbes. It helps ecosystems adapt to or recover from changing environmental&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":73774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-academics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}