Scott Ferrenberg

A long-term experiment run by Scott Ferrenberg (PhDEPOBio) and Sasha Reed (PhDEPOBio’08) showed that the biocrusts of Utah’s Upper Colorado Plateau are at risk from climate change. They found the biocrusts, made up of complex organisms like mosses and lichens, die off with heat increases, putting drylands at an increased risk for desertification. Their work was featured in the Washington Post this September.