This USGS Canyonlands Research Station site features a series of web pages focusing on biological soil crusts. Biological soil crusts are the community of organisms living at the surface of desert soils. Major components are cyanobacteria, green algae, microfungi, mosses, liverworts, and lichens. The site provides a menu of links to biological soil crust pages including Crusts 101: an introduction to biological soil crusts, an advanced page with a downloadable 90-page report on soil crusts, a gallery of biological soil crust images and figures, references, the Canyon Country Ecosystems Research Site (CCERS), and other related links. Links to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, USGS, and the National Park Service are also provided.
Subject: Biology:Ecology:Metabolism, Biology:Microbiology Resource Type: Scientific Resources:Collection, Overview/Reference Work, Audio/Visual:Images/Illustrations Grade Level: Graduate/Professional, General Public, College Upper (15-16), High School (9-12), Middle (6-8), College Lower (13-14) Extreme Environments: Anhydrous