I sat in on a very interesting webinar this morning hosted by the Forest Steward Guild. PhD candidate, Keven Griffen presented the research she and others are carrying out at Northern Arizona University to assess the potential for biocrust to be used for effective fire breaks in desert ecosystems. Preliminary results are very promising, as they both seem to provide some protective measure from fires, as well as providing suppression of vegetative type conversion to invasive grasses after a desert fire. You can read more at dirtlab.weebly.com
Personally, I am very excited about this potential, as I have a piece of property in the high desert of central Oregon that may or may not have burned this past week in the still-active Flat Fire.