Jayne Belnap, Ph.D.
Over the past 30 years, Dr. Belnap’s work has focused on dryland and rangeland ecosystems. Because many types of land uses can reduce the fertility and stability of these ecosystems, her research focus on how these lands can be managed sustainably. Specifically, her work highlights the central role biological soil crusts play in dryland ecosystems.
She has also been actively engaged in studies on how climate change will affect drylands ecosystems and in developing adaptation options for people using and managing these lands. Dr. Belnap has been involved in many creative, successful, and cost-effective restoration efforts aimed at reducing soil erosion and restoring plant productivity using local materials and labor. Her research efforts have been conducted around the world, including Iceland, Australia, China, Mongolia, Antarctica, the western U.S., Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. She has led many large interdisciplinary teams and excels at bringing people together, having published over 260 peer-reviewed articles and has had over 300 collaborators during her career. She travels extensively throughout the world, training federal, state, and private land managers/pastoralists on best management practices for dryland ecosystems. She has served on National Academy panels and participates in many other professional capacities as well. In 2008, she was recognized by the ESA as one of the most outstanding ecologists in the United States. In 2010 and 2013, she received awards as one of the outstanding women in science award from the US Department of Interior. In 2015, she was elected a Fellow of ESA.
Membership/Participation in Professional Societies
American Bryological and Lichenological Society
American Institute for Biological Sciences
Ecological Society of America (past Chair, Soil Ecology Section)
Ecological Society of America Governing Board
Soil Ecology Society (past President)
Soil Science Society of America
Professional Experience
NSF Fellow, Assistant, Stanford University
Research Associate, Brigham Young University
Research Biologist, USDI, Moab, Utah
Education and Certifications
B.A. Biology, U California, Santa Cruz 1980
B.A. Natural History, U California, Santa Cruz 1980
M.S. Ecology, Stanford University 1983
Ph.D. Botany, Brigham Young University 1991
Science and Products
Monitoring water content dynamics of biological soil crusts
Biological soil crust and disturbance controls on surface hydrology in a semi-arid ecosystem
Albedo feedbacks to future climate via climate change impacts on dryland biocrusts
Differential responses of dinitrogen fixation, diazotrophic cyanobacteria and ammonia oxidation reveal a potential warming-induced imbalance of the N-cycle in biological soil crusts
Low-cost grass restoration using erosion barriers in a degraded African rangeland
Testing the apparent resistance of three dominant plants to chronic drought on the Colorado Plateau
Experimental warming in a dryland community reduced plant photosynthesis and soil CO2 efflux although the relationship between the fluxes remained unchanged
Global biodiversity monitoring: from data sources to essential biodiversity variables
Biological soil crusts as an organizing principle in drylands
Biological soil crusts as soil stabilizers
Natural recovery of biological soil crusts after disturbance
Biological soil crusts: An organizing principle in dryland ecosystems (aka: the role of biocrusts in arid land hydrology)
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 256
Monitoring water content dynamics of biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (hereafter, “biocrusts”) dominate soil surfaces in nearly all dryland environments. To better understand the influence of water content on carbon (C) exchange, we assessed the ability of dual-probe heat-pulse (DPHP) sensors, installed vertically and angled, to measure changes in near-surface water content. Four DPHP sensors were installed in each of two research plots (eightAuthorsMichael H. Young, Lynn F. Fenstermaker, Jayne BelnapBiological soil crust and disturbance controls on surface hydrology in a semi-arid ecosystem
Biological soil crust communities (biocrusts) play an important role in surface hydrologic processes in dryland ecosystems, and these processes may then be dramatically altered with soil surface disturbance. In this study, we examined biocrust hydrologic responses to disturbance at different developmental stages on sandy soils on the Colorado Plateau. Our results showed that all disturbance (trampAuthorsAkasha M. Faist, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Jayne Belnap, Justin W. Van Zee, Nichole N. BargerAlbedo feedbacks to future climate via climate change impacts on dryland biocrusts
Drylands represent the planet’s largest terrestrial biome and evidence suggests these landscapes have large potential for creating feedbacks to future climate. Recent studies also indicate that dryland ecosystems are responding markedly to climate change. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) ‒ soil surface communities of lichens, mosses, and/or cyanobacteria ‒ comprise up to 70% of dryland cover andAuthorsWilliam A. Rutherford, Thomas H. Painter, Scott Ferrenberg, Jayne Belnap, Gregory S. Okin, Cody B. Flagg, Sasha C. ReedDifferential responses of dinitrogen fixation, diazotrophic cyanobacteria and ammonia oxidation reveal a potential warming-induced imbalance of the N-cycle in biological soil crusts
N2 fixation and ammonia oxidation (AO) are the two most important processes in the nitrogen (N) cycle of biological soil crusts (BSCs). We studied the short-term response of acetylene reduction assay (ARA) rates, an indicator of potential N2 fixation, and AO rates to temperature (T, -5°C to 35°C) in BSC of different successional stages along the BSC ecological succession and geographic origin (hotAuthorsXiaobing Zhou, Hilda J. Smith, Ana Giraldo Silva, Jayne Belnap, Ferran Garcia-PichelLow-cost grass restoration using erosion barriers in a degraded African rangeland
Rangeland degradation, typified by extensive bare ground and soil erosion, is a serious problem around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, rangeland degradation threatens the food security of millions of people who depend on livestock and the region's large mammalian wildlife diversity. We tested the ability of five simple, low-cost erosion barriers to promote grass and forb establishment in a bareAuthorsDavid W Kimiti, Corinna Riginos, Jayne BelnapTesting the apparent resistance of three dominant plants to chronic drought on the Colorado Plateau
Many drylands, including the south-western United States, are projected to become more water-limited as these regions become warmer and drier with climate change. Such chronic drought may push individual species or plant functional types beyond key thresholds leading to reduced growth or even mortality. Indeed, recent observational and experimental evidence from the Colorado Plateau suggests thatAuthorsDavid L. Hoover, Michael C. Duniway, Jayne BelnapExperimental warming in a dryland community reduced plant photosynthesis and soil CO2 efflux although the relationship between the fluxes remained unchanged
1. Drylands represent our planet's largest terrestrial biome and, due to their extensive area, maintain large stocks of carbon (C). Accordingly, understanding how dryland C cycling will respond to climate change is imperative for accurately forecasting global C cycling and future climate. However, it remains difficult to predict how increased temperature will affect dryland C cycling, as substantiAuthorsTimothy M. Wertin, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. ReedGlobal biodiversity monitoring: from data sources to essential biodiversity variables
Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) consolidate information from varied biodiversity observation sources. Here we demonstrate the links between data sources, EBVs and indicators and discuss how different sources of biodiversity observations can be harnessed to inform EBVs. We classify sources of primary observations into four types: extensive and intensive monitoring schemes, ecological fieldAuthorsVania Proenca, Laura J. Martin, Henrique M. Pereira, Miguel Fernandez, Louise McRae, Jayne Belnap, Monika Böhm, Neil Brummitt, Jaime Garcia-Moreno, Richard D. Gregory, Joao P Honrado, Norbert Jürgens, Michael Opige, Dirk S. Schmeller, Patricia Tiago, Chris A van SwayBiological soil crusts as an organizing principle in drylands
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have been present on Earth’s terrestrial surfaces for billions of years. They are a critical part of ecosystem processes in dryland regions, as they cover most of the soil surface and thus mediate almost all inputs and outputs from soils in these areas. There are many intriguing, but understudied, roles these communities may play in drylands. These include theirAuthorsJayne Belnap, Bettina Weber, Burkhard BüdelBiological soil crusts as soil stabilizers
Soil erosion is of particular concern in dryland regions, as the sparse cover of vascular plants results in large interspaces unprotected from the erosive forces of wind and water. Thus, most of these soil surfaces are stabilized by physical or biological soil crusts. However, as drylands are extensively used by humans and their animals, these crusts are often disturbed, compromising their stabiliAuthorsJayne Belnap, Burkhard BuedelNatural recovery of biological soil crusts after disturbance
Natural recovery of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) is influenced by a number of different parameters, such as climate, soil conditions, the severity of disturbance, and the timing of disturbance relative to the climatic conditions. In recent studies, it has been shown that recovery is often not linear, but a highly dynamic process directly influenced by non-linear external parameters as extraoAuthorsBettina Weber, Matthew A. Bowker, Yuanming Zhang, Jayne BelnapBiological soil crusts: An organizing principle in dryland ecosystems (aka: the role of biocrusts in arid land hydrology)
Biocrusts exert a strong influence on hydrological processes in drylands by modifying numerous soil properties that affect water retention and movement in soils. Yet, their role in these processes is not clearly understood due to the large number of factors that act simultaneously and can mask the biocrust effect. The influence of biocrusts on soil hydrology depends on biocrust intrinsic characterAuthorsSonia Chamizo, Jayne Belnap, David J Elridge, Oumarou M Issa - News