The Nature Conservancy, Utah
Climate Change Challenge: Hotter Temperatures
Grant Award: $207,838; year awarded: 2017
Biocrusts are keystone organisms of dryland ecosystems that play foundational roles in stabilizing soils and enhancing soil fertility. The hotter and drier future facing the Colorado Plateau is in need of innovative intervention to help it adapt and maintain ecosystem function. The Nature Conservancy will increase the adaptive capacity of dryland ecosystems at multiple sites by restoring their natural biocrust groundcover to stabilize soils and reduce erosion.