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A short introduction to biological soil crusts Cryptogamic crusts:
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 Formation of mature cryptogamic crust (dark ridges) typically requires decades free of disturbance. Since grasses depend on trampling to plant their seeds, you will usually find few or no young grass plants on land like this.
 Close-up of cryptogamic soil. These tiny organisms have shallow roots, dry out quickly after rains, and cannot grow much food to feed the ecosystem.
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Cryptogamic crusts are found in arid and seasonally dry (brittle) climates.
Soil crusts form when rain pounds bare soil, closing the microscopic pores on its surface that absorb water. The soil then hardens as it dries.
Eventually, algae and other primitive plants colonize the hard surface. This is cryptogamic crust.
In hot, high-rainfall climates such as Zimbabwe, cryptogamic crusts can form in a single season. In cold or arid climates such as Nevada, formation may take years.
Since they are fragile and slow-growing, cryptogamic crusts require undisturbed soil. This is a problem for grasslands, which depend on grazing animals to plant seeds. Usually where you find soil crusts between grass plants, you will also find a lack of young grasses. Soil crusts often indicate ecosystem damage.
Can cryptogamic crusts protect soil from erosion? Learn more about biological soil crusts and what they can (and can't) do.
Posted 1 November 2005
URL: managingwholes.com/cryptogamic-soil-crust.htm
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