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Effect of desert soil algae on the stabilization of fine sands

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Abstract

Four filamentous cyanobacteria, Microcoleusvaginatus, Phormidium tenue,Scytonemajavanicum (Kutz.) and Nostoc sp., and asingle-celled green alga, Desmococcus olivaceus, allisolated from Shapotou (Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China), were batchcultured and inoculated onto unconsolidated sand in greenhouse and fieldexperiments. Their ability to reduce wind erosion in sands was quantified byusing a wind tunnel laboratory. The major factors related to cohesion of algalcrusts, such as biomass, species, species combinations, bioactivity, niche,growth phase of algae, moisture, thickness of the crusts, dust accretion(including dust content and manner of dust added) and other cryptogams(lichens,fungi and mosses) were studied. The best of the five species were M.vaginatus and P. tenue, while the best mix wasablend of 80% M. vaginatus and 5% each of P.tenue,S. javanicum,Nostocsp. and D. olivaceus. The threshold friction velocity wassignificantly increased by the presence of all of the cyanobacterial species,while the threshold impact velocity was notably increased only by thefilamentous species. Thick crusts were less easily eroded than thin crusts,while biomass was more effective than thickness. Dust was incorporated bestintoMicrocoleus crust when added in small amounts over time,and appeared to increase growth of the cyanobacterium as well as strengthen thecohesion of the crust. Microbial crust cohesion was mainly attributed to algalaggregation, while lichens, fungi and mosses affected more the soil structureand physico-chemical properties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, Peoples Republic of China

    Chunxiang Hu, Yongding Liu & Lirong Song

  2. College of Life Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, Peoples Republic of China

    Delu Zhang

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  1. Chunxiang Hu
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  2. Yongding Liu
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  3. Lirong Song
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  4. Delu Zhang
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Hu, C., Liu, Y., Song, L. et al. Effect of desert soil algae on the stabilization of fine sands. Journal of Applied Phycology 14, 281–292 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021128530086

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