Abstract
Using biological methods to improve saline soils is recognized as an eco-friendly and sustainable way. In this study, two indigenous algae YJ-1 and YJ-2 screened from salinized farmland were inoculated into saline soils with different salinization levels to investigate their potential in enhancing soil health by laboratory microcosm experiment. The results showed that individual inoculation of the two algae quickly resulted in the formation of algal crusts, and the chlorophyll content in the saline soils gradually increased with the incubation time. The soil pH decreased significantly from the initial 8.15–9.45 to 6.97–7.56 after 60-day incubation. The exopolysaccharides secretion and the activities of catalase, sucrase, and urease in saline soils also increased. Microalgal inoculation increased soil organic matter storage, while decreasing the available nutrient contents possibly due to the depletion of microalgal growth. PCA and PCC results identified that microalgal biomass as the predominant variable affecting soil quality. Overall, these data revealed the great potential of microalgae in the amelioration of saline soils, especially in pH reduction and enzyme activity enhancement. This study will provide the theoretical foundation for improving saline soils via algalization.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This work was supported by the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (2022JQ-275), the Key Industrial Chain Project of Shaanxi Province (2022ZDLNY02-02), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (2023-JC-YB-265).
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Chao Zhang: Investigation, Methodology, Conceptualization, Visualization, Writing- original draft, Review & editing. Xianwei Yu: Investigation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing-original draft. Minwang Laipan, and Ting Wei: Investigation, Methodology, Formal analysis. Junkang Guo: Writing-review & editing, Visualization, Supervision. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Zhang, C., Yu, X., Laipan, M. et al. Soil health improvement by inoculation of indigenous microalgae in saline soil. Environ Geochem Health 46, 23 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01790-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01790-7