"Bret Cahill" wrote in message
...
The candy wrapper is easy to explain. The Russians already sent
someone there and never bothered to tell anyone about it.

As for the soil, it looks just like that found in any median strip in
Yuma.


Funny you should say that....


Microphytic Soil Crusts and Desert Ecosystems


Communities of micro-organisms create crusts on soils throughout semi-arid
and arid regions of the world. These microphytic (also called cryptogamic)
crusts are formed when all or some of a diverse array of photosynthetic
cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), fungi, bacteria, lichens and mosses, bind
together with inorganic particles in the first few millimeters of a soil.

Microphytic crusts are dominant feature in desert soils; they are estimated
to represent approximately 70% of desert soil biomass world wide
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=30286




An Introduction to Biological Soil Crusts

In more arid regions, vegetative cover is generally sparse. Open spaces are
usually covered by biological soil crusts, a highly specialized community of
cyanobacteria, mosses, and lichens (Figure 1).

Biological soil crusts are commonly found in semiarid and arid environments
throughout the world. Areas in the United States where crusts are a
prominent feature of the landscape include the Great Basin, Colorado
Plateau, Sonoran Desert, and the inner Columbia Basin. Crusts are also found
in agricultural areas, native prairies, and Alaska (Figure 2). Outside the
United States, crusts have been studied in the Antarctic, Australia, and
Israel, among other locations. In fact, microbiotic crusts have been found
on all continents and in most habitats, leaving few areas crust-free.

What's the right name?

Biological soil crusts are also known as cryptogamic, microbiotic,
cryptobiotic, and microphytic crusts, leading to some confusion. The names
are all meant to indicate common features of the organisms that compose the
crusts. The most inclusive term is probably biological soil crust, as this
distinguishes them from physical crusts without limiting the crust
components to plants. Whatever name used, there remains an important
distinction between these formations and physical or chemical crusts.

Biological soil crusts are formed by living organisms and their by-products,
creating a crust of soil particles bound together by organic materials.

Chemical and physical crusts are inorganic features such as a salt crust or
platy surface crust, often formed by trampling.
http://www.soilcrust.org/crust101.htm




Bret Cahill