Soil algae for combating soil degradation – greenhouse experiment with different soil amendments†
Xin Zhang
A B * and Hartmut Koehler B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A State Key Laboratory of Biological Fermentation Engineering of Beer, Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd, Qingdao 266100, Shandong, China.
B University of Bremen, UFT, General and Theoretical Ecology, Leobener Street 6, D-28359 Bremen, Germany.
Soil Research 61(1) 70-82 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR22074
Submitted: 11 April 2022 Accepted: 25 June 2022 Published: 13 July 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Our research contributes to the knowledge of using soil algae to combat soil degradation.
Aims: We tested green algae (Klebsormidium flaccidum) and a field soil algae community in a 3-month greenhouse experiment and studied their performance on two substrates: (1) sand from the Ordos Desert; and (2) artificial desert sand (washed sand).
Methods: A rapid fluorescence microscopy-Image J method was developed to estimate the abundance of algae. We studied the effects of four soil amendments (biochar, clay, organic matter, geohumus) on the development of green algae, field algae and biological soil crusts.
Key results: The field algae preferred washed sand. All amendments had a positive effect on the abundance of K. flaccidum and field algae. Biological soil crusts were generally lower in control and organic matter treatments, but relatively higher in biochar and clay treatments. No relationship between algal abundance and soil crust stability was found in this short-term experiment.
Conclusions: Our rapid fluorescence microscopy-Image J method quantitatively estimated algal abundance aunder different conditions, providing an indirect indicator of their growth status.
Implications: This method can be used to make recommendations on soil amendments and their effect on algal growth studies.
Keywords: biochar, compost, cyanobacteria, Klebsormidium, soil amendment, soil crust, soil degradation, soil organic matter.
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