Achieving dryland restoration through the deployment of enhanced biocrusts to improve soil stability fertility and native plant recruitment

Achieving dryland restoration through the deployment of enhanced biocrusts to improve soil stability fertility and native plant recruitment Achieving dryland restoration through the deployment of enhanced biocrusts to improve soil stability, fertility and native plant recruitment ASU TECHNICAL SECTION Dr. Garcia-Pichel will direct the project as for Objective 1 and help integrate it within Objectives 2 and 3, and will participate directly in experimentation, training and dissemination. Our primary objectives are to: 1) Establish a biocrust nursery as an inoculum trial and supply center for biocrust restoration. 2) Identify successful field application methods of biocrust inoculum in a series of field trials. 3) Evaluate plant (e.g., cover, diversity, exotic invasion) and soil (e.g., fertility, erosion) responses to biocrust restoration in multi-factorial field experiments.