الملخص الإنجليزي
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are a critical and unique part in their ecosystems, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Due to their documented positive effects on their ecosystems, they are receiving an increasing attention. Practical testing of the feasibility of artificially inoculating cyanobacterial-dominated biological soil crust into erosive soil to improve its stability and fertility was conducted in this study. The experiment evaluated the effect of inoculation mass (3g vs 5g), inoculation mode (fragment vs slurry), and watering frequency (3 vs 5 days per week) on inoculation development, chlorophyll a content, soil nitrate concentration and soil stability,
After three months of inoculation, the results showed that: (1) it was feasible to grow cyanobacterial-dominated biological soil crusts under natural environmental conditions and (2) man-made cyanobacterial crusts enhanced soil stability and fertility although they exhibited a decrease in soil nitrate concentration in the first weeks of inoculation. Economically, our results suggested that the inoculation of low mass, slurry inocula and a watering frequency of three days per week (LSW3) was suitable to artificially grow biological crusts and enhance soil stability and fertility in the hyperarid conditions of soil.
