Speaker
Description
Several studies have reported that the intensification of agricultural production using excessive chemical inputs has depleted soil organic matter responsible for storing nutrients, altered the pH and soil structure, and unbalanced the microbial flora. In recent years, Microalgae and cyanobacteria have gained particular attention as renewable organic biomass inputs that can be exploited in agriculture to promote and preserve soil fertility, stability, and prolonged productivity. This study investigated the effect of soil microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris, Klebsormidium flaccidium, and Nitzschia sp.) and cyanobacteria (Anabaena cylindrica) inoculation individually or in consortium combination on soil physico-chemical properties, nutrient contents, and soil microbial biomass and enzymatic activity. The results showed that the application of the diatom strain Nitzschia sp. alone, and the microalgal consortium significantly improved the N, P, Ca, K, and Na soil contents, as well as the soil chlorophyll-a and total polysaccharides. This dual inoculation improved the abundance of soil microbial communities (such as bacteria, fungi, and microalgae) and soil enzymatic activity (Dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activity). An improvement of 141.8, 48.2, 188.1 and 184.6% was observed for bacteria, fungi, dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activity, respectively.
Key words: Soil microalgae; microalgae-cyanobacteria consortium; soil nutrients; soil microbial communities; soil enzymatic activity.
