Abstract
The dust particles released during wind erosion of bare soil cause serious harm to the environmental air, human health and agricultural production. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of microbial consolidation of bare soil against wind erosion dust, and to investigate the mechanisms of improving wind erosion resistance of bare soil by microbial consolidation. Four or methods, microbial consolidation, watering, dust-proof net covered and original specimens, sprayed on four different particle sizes of river sand [A (d = 2.5–1.25 mm), B (d = 1.25–0.6 mm), C (d = 0.6–0.3 mm) and D (d = 0.3–0 mm)]. Then, the treated soil samples were tested wind erosion resistance, composition, strength and microstructure in topsoil. Test results show that microbial consolidation of bare soil samples has the strongest wind erosion resistance and dust suppression ability among the four methods. In addition, the particle sizes affect the degree of the microbial consolidation, which means the smaller the sand size and the better the consolidation effect. Compared with the original sample, the pH value and soluble salt content of microbial-consolidated soil have little change. Microbial consolidation of bare soil is a new and effective eco-friendly wind erosion and dust prevention technology.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the Yong Key Teachers in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province (No. 2017GGJS054), and the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51580166, and U1404527). This support is gratefully acknowledged.
Funding
The financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51580166, and U1404527), and the Key Research Projects of Higher Education Institutions in Henan (No. 15A560007).
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Zhang, M., Wang, R., Liu, F. et al. Anti-wind erosion and anti-dust mechanisms of microbial consolidation of bare soil. Environ Earth Sci 80, 705 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09977-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09977-w