Feasibility of Mowing Sands Stabilization in the Dried-up Beds of Lake Urmia using Inoculation and Stimulation of Soil Native Cyanobacteria

The stabilization of the dried-up lakebeds is necessary. Recently, biocrust formation/ restoration through the microbial inoculation has been considered to stabilize the moving sands. Accordingly, this study planned to evaluate the possibility of using cyanobacterial inoculation and stimulation in stabilization of the moving sands beds of Lake Urmia at the laboratory conditions. To this end, the bulk samples were taken from Jabal-Kandi region (from Urmia) as a hotspot region for the moving sands, and the samples poured into the erosion trays. The most suitable existing cyanobacteria for the soil stabilization were selected, purified and proliferated from the origin soil. The stimulant nutrient (CHU10) was also prepared by dissolving various nutrients in sterile water. Then, the three treatments of control, stimulation of cyanobacteria, and inoculation of cyanobacteria were prepared by adding 1 l m-2 of sterile water, CHU10, and cyanobacterial solution at three replications. After 120 days, the wind (72 km h-1 for 30 min) was simulated on the trays. The rate of the wind-induced sand transport from the control, stimulated, and inoculated treatments were 1.58, 1.35, and 0.05 kg m-2 min-1, respectively. We found that both stimulated and inoculated methods significantly reduced (P< 0.01) the wind-induced sand transport by 14 and 96%, respectively, as compared to control. However, the inoculation of cyanobacteria was more effective than the stimulation of cyanobacteria. Assessing the scanning electron microscopy images from the soil surface also confirmed the ability of cyanobacteria in increasing the strong bindings between soil particles. Furthermore, inoculation of cyanobacteria increased the soil organic matter content and aggregate stability of the study soil, as important indicators of soil stability, by 162 and 106%, respectively. However, the inoculation of cyanobacteria under natural conditions is necessary to achieve an effective way in stabilizing dried-up beds of Lake Urmia.