- Biological Soil Crusts
Beginner's overview to the biology, ecology, and physiology of soil crusts around the world from the USGS.
www.soilcrust.org
- Microbial World: Cyanobacteria
Provides an introduction to the cryptobiotic crusts of the American West.
helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/microbes/cyano.htm
- Desert Varnish and Lichen Crust
Examines the natural, colorful coatings upon desert and seaside stones caused by colonies of bacteria and lichens.
waynesword.palomar.edu/pljan98.htm
- Cryptobiotic Crust in the Sonoran Desert
Communities of cyanobacteria, green algae, lichens, mosses, liverworts, and microorganisms that colonize the surface of bare soil.
www.mineralarts.com/artwork/cryptos.html
- Cryptobiotic Soils: Holding the Place in Place
Looks at the important ecological role that cryptobiotic soil crusts play in the arid Southwest.
geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/biology/crypto
- Microbiotic Crusts: Ecological Roles and Implications for Rangeland Management in the Interior Coulumbia Basin and Portions of the Klamath and Great Basin
(PDF)
BLM draft paper.
www.icbemp.gov/science/leonard2.pdf
- Spirirestis rafaelensis gen. et sp. nov. (Cyanophyceae), A New Cyanobacterial Genus from Arid Soils
Paper reports the morphological and molecular studies of the taxon discovered in the semi-arid Utah juniper community.
www.jcu.edu/mcp/Spirirestisrafaelensis.html
- Microbiotic Crusts: A Review
(PDF)
Survey of published microbiotic crust research.
www.icbemp.gov/science/williams.pdf
- Microbiotic Soil Crusts in Sagebrush Habitats of Southern Idaho
(PDF)
Identifying the species associated with microbiotic soil crusts in sagebrush habitat types and determine the ecological roles filled by the individual taxa and the crusts as a whole.
www.icbemp.gov/science/kaltenec.pdf
- Cryptobiotic Soil Crusts
Found in dry places all over the world, they are a delicate living mat made up of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, algae, and microfungi.
www.eduscapes.com/nature/cryptsoil
- Biotic Crust Project: Microscopic Wonder of the Desert
Taxonomic survey of organisms that comprise desert crust communities in western North America.
hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/bcp
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