Chlorophyll and growth performance of biological sand-fixing materials inoculated on sandy desert surface

Abstract

Desert biocrusts play an important role in the control of desertification and artificial inoculation can promote the formation and development of biocrusts. Physiological and growth responses of biocrusts inoculated on desert surfaces were investigated to assess the effect of mixture ratio, inoculation times, and water supply under laboratory conditions. The application of biological sand-fixing material prepared by cultivated algae crust and polymeric composites in a 1:1 ratio accelerated the most accumulation of chlorophyll a in 0.55 mg kg -1 , thickness in 3.06 mm, and fresh mass in 0.69 g cm -1 , was the most beneficial to formation and development of artificial biocrust. The water supply and cultivation time always significantly promoted the growth and accumulation of chlorophyll a and biomass under artificial cultivation and inoculation treatments. Artificial inoculation of biological sand-fixing material can lead to the formation of desert biocrust, which provides an engineering application method for desertification control. Highlights• The best ratio in biocrust and polymeric composites was 1:1 • Attapulgite could facilitate biocrust • Water supply accelerated the accumulation of chlorophyll a and biomass