Walker Basin Conservancy

Project Abstractgrantee Name: Walker Basin Conservancygrant Number: G24AC00159-00PROJECT Title: Applied Ecology of Great Basin Ecosystems at Local and Regional Scalesproject Period: 04 05 2024 to 04 04 2027AWARD Purpose: This Cooperative Agreement (COOP) With Walker Basin Conservancy (wbc)is to Increase Our Understanding of the Role That Biocrusts Play in Maintaining Native Plant Communities as Well as How We Can Better Manage for Biocrusts.activities to Be Performed: the Goal of This Study Aims to Increase Our Understanding of the Role That Biocrusts Play in Maintaining Native Plant Communities as Well as How We Can Better Manage for Biocrusts. This Research Focuses on Five Highly Integrated Research Objectives: 1) Understanding Interactions Between Biocrusts and Vascular Plants 2) Understanding the Response of Morphogroups of Biological Soil Crusts to Common Disturbances in the Region Such as Fire, Grazing, Drought and Feral Horses, 3) Understanding the Response of Biocrusts as Well as Native and Non-native Vegetation to Common Land Treatments Such as Burning, Seeding and Thinning of Woodlands, 4) Developing Protocols and Tools for Surveying Biological Soil Crusts 5) Restoring Biological Soil Crusts.deliverables and Expected Outcomes: Several Deliverables Are Expected. These Include WBC Will Provide Usgs With Electronic Copies of All Field Data Containing Information Collected Under This Agreement Within 30 Days of Field Collection and Any Reports or Peer-reviewed Articles Documenting Study Results.intended Beneficiaries: Walker Basin Conservancy and the U.s. Geological Survey (usgs), Research and Data Collection.