#cryptobiotic

close-ups matter: if it reads “manufactured” at macro scale, the fiction holds.

Crunchy Soil If you ever go off-trail in the iconic deserts of the American Southwest, you might notice a distinct crunch when you step. It’s a very significant crunch—it’s the sound of a very important soil called cryptobiotic soil or biological soil crust. Like most soil, cryptobiotic soil has a few components but one of its most important is cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria is a binding agent when it gets wet. Tiny little filaments from the bacteria extend and move around in the soil, locking soil and other particles in place. This is a huge help against soil erosion, since particles that otherwise would be washed away quite easily are now safely stuck in cyanobacteria’s sticky network. Cyanobacteria are also nitrogen “fixers”. Nitrogen is incredibly important for plant growth, but as it is in the atmosphere, it’s completely useless. Nitrogen must be converted from N2 to NH4+ or NO2. Cyanobacteria in soil crusts do a great job at that and provide needed nitrogen in a land of limited resources. Cryptobiotic soil is a very fragile resource, so if you ever hear that crunch or notice a black crusty top layer to the soil, it’s time to get back on the trail. It can take up to 7 years for a biological soil crust to regenerate after its been damaged. These soil crusts have suffered a lot at the hands of rogue hikers, mountain bikers, and ATV’s. Loss of soil crust can lead to increasing rates of soil erosion, which is devastating for desert ecosystems. -CM Photo credit: Canyonlands National Park http://bit.ly/1LK451i For more information: http://bit.ly/1HN3xH4 https://underc.nd.edu/assets/174593/fullsize/pecararo_2010.pdf

No one wants to fall in love in the desert. It’s too beautiful around you to fall in love with anything else. It breeds romance doused in respect for ability to survive. But here’s the thing: roots don’t grow very easily in the desert. Here, we have crypto-biotic soil, and it takes hundreds of years to grow anything. The same applies to relationships. A lot of desert love is thirsty and drought filled. The red rock is a religion. If you choose to explore it, you become captivated internally. There isn’t time for anything else.

To read more about soils: http://bit.ly/1HN3xH4

Cryptobiotic crust, Moab, UT