The aim of this work was to identify test meth-ods for accelerating growth of biological soil crust (BSC). The BSC in the Yamin Plateau in the north-east of the Negev Desert is composed of cyanobacteria such as microc...The aim of this work was to identify test meth-ods for accelerating growth of biological soil crust (BSC). The BSC in the Yamin Plateau in the north-east of the Negev Desert is composed of cyanobacteria such as microcoleus spp. nostoc spp. and others. Cyanobacteria are well adapted to dry environments, owing to their ability to survive desiccation, high temperatures and solar radiation. Since the BSC is a live component in the ecosystem, it can repair itself in the event of failures such as environmental disturbances by living things. In the lab, we used five different treatments and mediums: natural BSC, pure sand as reference, pure sand with spores and propagules, pure sand with whey, and pure sand with spores and propa-gules and whey. The spores were collected from specified collecting areas in the field. Each Petri dish was irrigated daily with 10 mL of double- distilled water. The testing period ran for 4.5 months with 10 samples taken from each treatment at 1.5 month intervals. The analyses criteria were: NDVI for chlorophyll content by remote sensing techniques, polysaccharide content, infiltration rate through the crust, pro-tein and organic content. The results showed that NDVI, polysaccharides and infiltration rates are good indicators for showing growth accel-eration of the crust;while protein and organic content were found to be less indicative. The treatments using whey for preliminary crust failed in the lab since cracks were observed, but succeeded in the field experiments. In the field, we measured only the chlorophyll content with a time interval of 20 months. The methodology of how to accelerate the growth of BSC was found to be effective.展开更多
1 Introduction Alkaline Lake Khilganta located in a steppe zone of South Siberia(N 50°42’535,E 115°06’086)is unique among adjacent lakes because of a development of a thick(up to 3 cm)cyanobacterial mat do...1 Introduction Alkaline Lake Khilganta located in a steppe zone of South Siberia(N 50°42’535,E 115°06’086)is unique among adjacent lakes because of a development of a thick(up to 3 cm)cyanobacterial mat dominated by展开更多
Cyanobacteria are constructors of biological soil crusts(BSCs);their motility is thought to be crucial for surviving burial and BSC expansion.In this study,X-ray computed microtomography in combination with machine-le...Cyanobacteria are constructors of biological soil crusts(BSCs);their motility is thought to be crucial for surviving burial and BSC expansion.In this study,X-ray computed microtomography in combination with machine-learning-based image processing was employed to investigate cyanobacteria-dominated BSCs.The structural changes in these BSCs,as well as the behaviors of the dominant cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus therein,in response to changes in water availability and particle burial were visualized and quantitatively analyzed.Hygroscopic swelling of cyanobacteria biomaterials increased pore-network complexity and reduced the porosity and hydraulic radius.Trichomes of M.vaginatus inside BSCs were connected to the surface by tunnel-like structures made of extracellular polymeric substances(EPSs),through which the trichomes migrated to and from the surface in bundles.Despite the generally negative effects of EPSs on hydraulic conductivity,EPS tunnels have the potential to enhance water transfer to the trichomes.Extensive hydration and particle burial led to the spreading migration of individual trichomes,forming netlike structures inside the newly deposited layer.The results highlight the significance of the structural organization of EPSs within BSCs and the importance of cyanobacterial migration in BSC expansion.展开更多
Soil cyanobacterial crusts occur throughout the world, especially in the semiarid and arid regions. It always encounters sand burial, which is an important feature of mobile sand dunes. A greenhouse study was conducte...Soil cyanobacterial crusts occur throughout the world, especially in the semiarid and arid regions. It always encounters sand burial, which is an important feature of mobile sand dunes. A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of sand burial on biomass, chlorophyll fluorescence and extracellular polysaccharides of man-made cyanobacterial crusts in six periods of time (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 d after burying) and at five depths (0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2cm). The results indicated that with the increase of the burial time and burial depth extracellular polysaccharides content and Fv/Fm decreased correspondingly and there were no significant differences between 20 and 30 burial days under dif-ferent burial depths. The degradation of chlorophyll a content appeared only at 20 and 30 burial days and there was also no significant difference between them under different burial depths. It was also observed a simultaneous decrease of the values of the Fv/Fm and the content of extracellular poly-saccharides happened in the crusted cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus Gom. It may suggest that there exists a relationship between extracellular polysaccharides and recovery of the activity of pho-tosystem II (PS II) after rehydration.展开更多
文摘The aim of this work was to identify test meth-ods for accelerating growth of biological soil crust (BSC). The BSC in the Yamin Plateau in the north-east of the Negev Desert is composed of cyanobacteria such as microcoleus spp. nostoc spp. and others. Cyanobacteria are well adapted to dry environments, owing to their ability to survive desiccation, high temperatures and solar radiation. Since the BSC is a live component in the ecosystem, it can repair itself in the event of failures such as environmental disturbances by living things. In the lab, we used five different treatments and mediums: natural BSC, pure sand as reference, pure sand with spores and propagules, pure sand with whey, and pure sand with spores and propa-gules and whey. The spores were collected from specified collecting areas in the field. Each Petri dish was irrigated daily with 10 mL of double- distilled water. The testing period ran for 4.5 months with 10 samples taken from each treatment at 1.5 month intervals. The analyses criteria were: NDVI for chlorophyll content by remote sensing techniques, polysaccharide content, infiltration rate through the crust, pro-tein and organic content. The results showed that NDVI, polysaccharides and infiltration rates are good indicators for showing growth accel-eration of the crust;while protein and organic content were found to be less indicative. The treatments using whey for preliminary crust failed in the lab since cracks were observed, but succeeded in the field experiments. In the field, we measured only the chlorophyll content with a time interval of 20 months. The methodology of how to accelerate the growth of BSC was found to be effective.
文摘1 Introduction Alkaline Lake Khilganta located in a steppe zone of South Siberia(N 50°42’535,E 115°06’086)is unique among adjacent lakes because of a development of a thick(up to 3 cm)cyanobacterial mat dominated by
基金supported by the Leading Talents in Sci-Technological Innovation Project of“Tianshan Talent”Training Plan of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region(2022TSYCLJ0058)the Youth Talent Training Program of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography,Chinese Academy of Sciences(E328010701)the“Tianshan Talent”Training Program(2023TSYCCX0089).
文摘Cyanobacteria are constructors of biological soil crusts(BSCs);their motility is thought to be crucial for surviving burial and BSC expansion.In this study,X-ray computed microtomography in combination with machine-learning-based image processing was employed to investigate cyanobacteria-dominated BSCs.The structural changes in these BSCs,as well as the behaviors of the dominant cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus therein,in response to changes in water availability and particle burial were visualized and quantitatively analyzed.Hygroscopic swelling of cyanobacteria biomaterials increased pore-network complexity and reduced the porosity and hydraulic radius.Trichomes of M.vaginatus inside BSCs were connected to the surface by tunnel-like structures made of extracellular polymeric substances(EPSs),through which the trichomes migrated to and from the surface in bundles.Despite the generally negative effects of EPSs on hydraulic conductivity,EPS tunnels have the potential to enhance water transfer to the trichomes.Extensive hydration and particle burial led to the spreading migration of individual trichomes,forming netlike structures inside the newly deposited layer.The results highlight the significance of the structural organization of EPSs within BSCs and the importance of cyanobacterial migration in BSC expansion.
基金Supported by the Special Project for Desert Recolonization of the Planning Commit-tee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and partly by The Biological Project of the Chinese Engineering for Manned Space Flights (Grant No. KSCX-SW-322)
文摘Soil cyanobacterial crusts occur throughout the world, especially in the semiarid and arid regions. It always encounters sand burial, which is an important feature of mobile sand dunes. A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of sand burial on biomass, chlorophyll fluorescence and extracellular polysaccharides of man-made cyanobacterial crusts in six periods of time (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 d after burying) and at five depths (0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2cm). The results indicated that with the increase of the burial time and burial depth extracellular polysaccharides content and Fv/Fm decreased correspondingly and there were no significant differences between 20 and 30 burial days under dif-ferent burial depths. The degradation of chlorophyll a content appeared only at 20 and 30 burial days and there was also no significant difference between them under different burial depths. It was also observed a simultaneous decrease of the values of the Fv/Fm and the content of extracellular poly-saccharides happened in the crusted cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus Gom. It may suggest that there exists a relationship between extracellular polysaccharides and recovery of the activity of pho-tosystem II (PS II) after rehydration.
