The Facts about Cryptogamic Soil

[Monte Wells]

This post is about what environmental groups don't want you to know about Cryptogamic (cryptobiotic) Soil.  If you known the truth they will not be able to perpetuate their lies and misinformation which in turn affects their pocket book. The key to most groups like environmental groups is to take advantage of peoples fears and lack of knowledge. Well my goal is not to convince you that everything the environmental groups say is wrong, but to present you with some questions you might want to think about.

They say that Cryptogamic soil stabilizes the soil, holds moisture, and provides protection for germination of the seeds of other plants and that with out it the whole desert would fall apart.  They also say that it is alive. They say that it takes decades for cryptogamic soil to grow and it should be protected, and that the desert environment is a fragile delicate environment.

There is no disputing that Cryptogamic soil is alive like 99% of everything in the desert and on the earth today. I would also have to say that in those areas that you find cryptogamic soil it may have some characteristics that aids in limited erosion on some level, but the deserts of the southwest have been created and shaped by erosion. That erosion process that shaped the deserts to what we see today will eventually reshape it for the future. All the cryptogamic soil in the world is not going to change that process.

Cryptogamic soil is only found in certain types of soil through out the desert environment. Also it is only found with in certain elevations with in the desert environment.  I don't know why this is but this is what I have observed over the years. With this in mind then I would like you to ask yourself the following questions:

How can cryptogamic soil play such a critical role in the survival of the desert when it is only present in part of the desert environments?

If it played the critical role that environmental groups would want you to believe then it would need to be present in all desert environments. As everyone knows that has ever visited the canyon country of the southwest there are a verity of different desert environments with in the Colorado Plateau that makes up part of the deserts of the southwest.

If the desert is one of the harshest environments on the earth then how can it be so delicate and fragile?

The truth is it can’t. The desert is an ever changing environment and it changes with every wind, rain, and snow storm. The desert is like any other environment on earth in the sense that the live that is present with in that environment evolved to be sustainable in that environment. It isn’t just by chance that the vegetation and animals that are in the desert are there. It’s because they have evolved to survive in that environment. The environment did not evolve around the plant and animal life. So to say that the desert is a delicate environment is to deny the laws and principles that govern the evolutionary process.

The following photos were taken over a several year time period of the same location. The photo with the Teepee Poles in it was a camp that we used under special permit for 18 consecutive months until it was destroyed by vandals.  You will notice that there is no cryptogamic soil present and the vegetation is minimal.  I would think that this site would clearly represent what long term human impact on the desert would look like. 

The next photo is of that same camp site eight years later. You will notice the mature cryptogamic soil, and yucca plants. After only eight years this heavily impacted area has a 100% recovery as you can see with all the growth. These photos are a clear example of how the desert renews itself in a short period of time, and how the environmental propaganda about desert environments is misleading and tainted to meet the personal needs of the groups putting out the propaganda. 

Based on these photos do you think the environmental groups have been telling the public the truth about Cryptogamic soil?   

[D.Evick]

rnyeah your right now that i think about it. there is no soil. I guess i should have said soiless.rn