Effect of desert soil algae on the stabilization of fine sands

Four filamentous cyanobacteria, Microcoleus vaginatus, Phormidium tenue, Scytonema javanicum (Kutz.) and Nostoc sp., and a single-celled green alga, Desmococcus olivaceus, all isolated from Shapotou (Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China), were batch cultured and inoculated onto unconsolidated sand in greenhouse and field experiments. Their ability to reduce wind erosion in sands was quantified by using a wind tunnel laboratory. The major factors related to cohesion of algal crusts, 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 was a blend of 80% M. vaginatus and 5% each of P. tenue, S. javanicum, Nostoc sp. and D. olivaceus. The threshold friction velocity was significantly increased by the presence of all of the cyanobacterial species, while the threshold impact velocity was notably increased only by the filamentous species. Thick crusts were less easily eroded than thin crusts, while biomass was more effective than thickness. Dust was incorporated best into Microcoleus crust when added in small amounts over time, and appeared to increase growth of the cyanobacterium as well as strengthen the cohesion of the crust. Microbial crust cohesion was mainly attributed to algal aggregation, while lichens, fungi and mosses affected more the soil structure and physico-chemical properties.

Cementing mechanism of algal crusts from desert area

34-, 17-, 4-, 1.5-year old natural algal crusts were collected from Shapotou Scientific Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 40-day old field and greenhouse artificial algal crusts were in situ developed in the same sandy soil and the same place (37degrees27'N, 104degrees57'E). Their different cohesions both against wind force and pressure were measured respectively by a sandy wind-tunnel experiment and a penetrometer. On the basis of these algal crusts, the cementing mechanism was revealed from many subjects and different levels. The results showed that in the indoor artificial crusts with the weakest cohesion bunchy algal filaments were distributed in the surface of the crusts, produced few extracellular polymers (EPS), the binding capacity of the crusts just accomplished by mechanical bundle of algal filaments. For field crusts, most filaments grew toward the deeper layers of algal crusts, secreted much more EPS, and when organic matter content was more than 2.4 times of chlorophyll a, overmuch organic matter (primarily is EPS) began to gather onto the surface of the crusts and formed an organic layer in the relatively lower micro-area, and this made the crust cohesion increase 2.5 times. When the organic layer adsorbed and intercepted amounts of dusts, soil particles and sand grains scattered down from wind, it changed gradually into an inorganic layer in which inorganic matter dominated, and this made the crusts cohesion further enhanced 2-6 times. For crust-building species Microcoleus vaginatus, 88.5% of EPS were the acidic components, 78% were the acidic proteglycan of 380 kD. The uronic acid content accounted for 8% of proteglycan, and their free carboxyls were important sites of binding with metal cations from surrounding matrix.

Global iron connections between desert dust, ocean biogeochemistry, and climate

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ENVIRONMENTAL EVOLUTION OF ORDOS DESERT IN CHINA SINCE 1.1MA B. P. AS INDICATED BY YULIN STRATIGRAPHICAL SECTION AND ITS GRAIN-SIZE ANALYSIS RESULTS

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