1. Soil erosion control of Urmia Lake using indigenous ureolytic calcifying bacteria.
- Author
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Mohsenzadeh, A., Ebadi, T., Fattahi, S. M., Soorki, A. A., Bolfion, M., and Kawasaki, S.
- Subjects
SOIL conservation ,SOIL erosion ,WIND erosion ,SOIL stabilization ,LAND degradation ,ARID regions ,RAINFALL - Abstract
Land degradation caused by accelerated soil erosion is a significant issue, particularly in arid or semi-arid regions, such as Urmia Lake in northwest Iran, where rainfall and wind erosion are major contributors. Microbially induced CaCO
3 precipitation using indigenous ureolytic calcifying bacteria is a promising nature-inspired technique for mitigating soil erosion. In this study, several strains of indigenous bacteria were isolated and screened for urease activity and CaCO3 precipitation ability. The strain with the highest activity was selected for crust formation, and different treatment cycles and cementation solution concentrations were employed for specimen preparation. The results show that even specimens with only three cycles of treatment provided considerable protection against rainfall and wind erosion by reducing the erosion rate by over 50% and five times of magnitude, respectively. The specimen treated with seven cycles of cementation solution at a concentration of 1 M produced the thickest and strongest crusts. This study highlights the potential of using native bacteria for treatment as an effective method for controlling soil erosion in arid or semi-arid regions. The findings could be valuable for researchers and engineers involved in erosion control and soil stabilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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