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Inspire Session

Session: From the Desert to the Arctic: Ecological Significance of Bryophytes Across Systems

INS 15-9 - The role of biocrust mosses in dryland carbon cycling

Thursday, August 18, 2022

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM EDT

Location: 520A

Presenting Author(s)

SR

Sasha C. Reed

Research Ecologist
U.S. Geological Survey
Moab, UT, United States

Co-author(s)

AH

Armin Howell

Research Technician
U.S. Geological Survey
KC

Kirsten K. Coe, PhD

Professor
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT, United States
CT

Colin Tucker, PhD

Research Ecologist
USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Madison, Michigan, United States

Drylands are increasingly recognized as playing a dominant role in Earth’s carbon cycle and thus climate. Although biocrust mosses are a significant component of drylands across the globe (e.g., biocrust mosses), few data evaluate the contribution of these mosses to dryland carbon stocks and fluxes. Here we bring insight into the function of mosses in the dryland carbon cycle, both now and into the future. We will explore high resolution biocrust moss carbon data from field settings, in situ dryland climate manipulation experiments, and controlled laboratory studies to quantitatively contextualize mosses within the carbon cycle of planet’s largest biome: drylands.