The Chinese Academy of Sciences will soon kick off an innovative sand control project, using the socalled biocarpet. Scientists use biotechniques to duplicate the microbe crusts that are naturally formed over arid and semi-arid wastelands, and spread the biocarpet over sand surface, in an attempt to fix flowing sands and prevent desertification.
Biocarpet is a compound made up of bacteria, epiphyte, blue and green algae, lichen, moss and soil. The inside bacteria and biological roots can tie up sands, effectively reducing the soil erosion caused by winds and water, absorbing nitrogen from air, and improving soil.
With other supporting means, biological crusts can be further developed and expanded, to facilitate the restoration or reconstruction of degraded ecosystems. Scientists will keep working on related studies and demonstrations, including formation of biological crusts and associated sand fixing mechanism, major compositions and functions of biological crusts, scale production of biological crusts, and associated field planting.
While studying the principles and mechanism of biological crusts. the biocarpet sand control project will put new findings into commercial applications. The new tactics can drastically reduce sand control costs, especially compared with existing wind breaking and sand control measures, with an enhanced ecological adaptability, and needing no additional irrigations. |
