Reduction of the wind erosion potential in dried-up lakebeds using artificial biocrusts

Abstract

The artificial creation of biocrusts can be a rapid and pervasive solution to reduce wind erosion potential (WEP) in dried-up lakes (e.g., Lake Urmia). So, in this study, we created a biocrust by the inoculation of bacteria and cyanobacteria on trays filled by soils collected from the dried-up bed of Lake Urmia, Iran, to reduce WEP in laboratory conditions. We used the wind erodible fraction of soil (EF) and soil crust factor (SCF) equations to calculate the WEP of the treated soils. EF and SCF were decreased (p < 0.05) through applying the co-inoculation of bacteria and cyanobacteria by 5.6% and 10.57%, respectively, as compared to the control; also, the “cyanobacteria alone” inoculation decreased EF by 3.9%. Our results showed that the artificial biocrusts created by soil inoculation, especially with the co-using of bacteria and cyanobacteria, significantly reduced the WEP of a newly dried-up lakebed. Furthermore, we found that inoculation decreased the WEP of the study soil by increasing the soil organic matter content from 3.7 to 5 fold. According to scanning electron microscopy images, the inoculated microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria, improved soil aggregation by their exopolysaccharides and filaments; thus, they can be used with other factors to estimate the soil erodibility in well-developed biocrusts. The inoculation technique could be considered as a rapid strategy in stabilizing lakebeds against wind force. However, it should be confirmed after additional experiments using wind tunnels under natural conditions.

Keywords

biological soil crust / dried-up lakes / dust storms / flowing-sands / soil cyanobacteria

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Urmia Lake Research Institute, Urmia University, Iran (No. 98/A/001), whose valuable assistance is greatly appreciated.

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