Abstract:
The research on solidifying and dust-suppressing desert sands by using the principle of microbial mineralization has become a technological frontier in the field of desert ecological restoration in the arid regions of Northwest China. However, the urease activity of common ureolytic microorganisms is inhibited to varying degrees in plateau environments. Therefore, screening native (indigenous) superior ureolytic microorganisms from cold and arid desert environments for the solidification of desertified soil has been emerged as a new approach in this field. This paper isolates superior ureolytic microorganisms from the saline desert soil in the arid region of the Qinghai Plateau. Through perfusion, spraying, and water erosion methods, solidification experiments are conducted on the saline desert soil, analyzing the physicochemical characteristics, mechanical strength changes, and erosion resistance of the soil solidified by indigenous microorganisms. The results show that a superior ureolytic microorganism (Z7), belonging to the probiotic group, is found in the saline desert soil of the Qinghai Plateau. In an environment with a 5% salt concentration, the maximum enzyme activity of Z7 is 2.075 U/mL. The unconfined compressive strength of the Z7-solidified saline desert soil increases by 26.8 times, the shear strength of the surface soil improves by approximately 9 times, the surface soil loss rate decreases by an average of 70.5%, and the erosion resistance increases by 6.5 times. The results demonstrate the potential of indigenous ureolytic microorganisms in solidifying and erosion-resistant applications for loose saline desert soils, providing new strategic support for ecological restoration in the arid saline desert environments of plateau regions.