Reference News Website January 6 report, according to the Spanish website "Secreto," on January 4, Chinese researchers are continuously spreading large amounts of blue algae in the Tengger Desert, aiming to transform desert sand into arable soil. This type of algae has the characteristics of withstanding high temperatures and drought. Once there is rainfall, they will rapidly reproduce and spread, forming a biological crust layer. This crust layer can fix sand dunes and create a suitable environment for crop growth.
The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China has incorporated this technology into its desert control plan, and plans to use this innovative technology to manage 5333 to 6667 hectares of desert within the next five years.
This technology was developed by the research team at the Shaobohead Desert Research and Experimental Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Zhao Yang, deputy director of the Shaobohead Desert Research and Experimental Station, said in an interview with the media that after relentless efforts, researchers successfully enabled the algae to gather on the sand surface and combine with soil particles, eventually forming a biological soil crust.
Blue algae are a type of microorganism capable of photosynthesis. Their ancestors have existed on Earth for about 3.5 billion years. After the formation of the crust layer, it is like giving the sandy land a "protective coat" that can resist wind erosion.
According to Chinese media reports, under traditional sand fixation techniques, the formation of natural crusts takes 5 to 10 years. However, this new algal sand fixation technology can significantly shorten this process to about one year, providing a powerful technical means for desertification control, but the development process has been full of challenges.
In 2010, Zhao Yang's team first discovered that a certain type of blue algae had the potential to create soil in the desert, but perfecting the technology took more than a decade. In the early stages of development, the biggest challenge was that blue algae that grew well in the laboratory environment struggled to survive in the wild desert environment. In 2016, the team found that injecting blue algae into sand gaps through pressurized spraying could increase their survival rate in the wild to over 60%. However, this pressurized spraying technology relies on power supply and road access, which cannot meet the needs of large-scale desert control.
This dilemma prompted the team to start exploring and developing solid "algal seeds" that are convenient for transportation and sowing. Researchers selected superior blue algae, then mixed the culture solution containing the algae with fine particles and organic matter to create a paste-like substance, producing a solid similar to soil granules.
Researchers explained that it not only facilitates transportation but also has a very high survival rate. After being sown on dry sandy land, once there is rain, the "algae seeds" will quickly germinate and grow, forming a stable soil crust layer.
Established in 1955, the Shaobohead Desert Research and Experimental Station is renowned worldwide for pioneering the "wheat straw grid" sand fixation method. As the "Green Great Wall" project expands to regions such as Africa, this technology may change the global ecological landscape. (Translation: Han Chao)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7592070411932762666/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.