Abstract
Nostoc flagelliforme, a filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, is widely distributed in arid steppes of the west and northwestern parts of China. However, as a food delicacy this species has been overexploited from 1970 to 2000. Moreover, overgrazing, land reclamation and the removal of medicinal herbs have caused severely reduced vegetation coverage there. In this communication, a badly damaged but slowly rehabilitating N. flagelliforme-inhibiting steppe is described, and the rehabilitation of desertified steppes by the renewed growth of N. flagelliforme is proposed. The restoration of this dominant nitrogen supplier would be an ecologically sustainable solution for supplementing current measures already taken in the desertified regions. In addition, a goal of 50%–60% vegetation coverage is proposed by the N. flagelliforme restoration.
Highlights
We describe a badly damaged but slowly rehabilitating arid steppe, while emphasizing the great importance of N. flagelliforme restoration for achieving combined recovery of this cyanobacterium and xerophilic plants for ecological improvement in the arid steppes
These higher plants serve as the main C supplier in arid steppes, since soil C was positively correlated to vegetation coverage and above-ground biomass, especially surface litter [14]
The restoration of N. flagelliforme and the whole ecosystem is a long-term process. This communication has proposed the restoration of N. flagelliforme for ecological improvement of arid steppes
Summary
In the arid steppes of the west and northwestern parts of China, some of them, such as Microcoleus species, participate in the formation of biological soil crusts (BSCs), which are both widespread and important for sand fixation [2,3]. Another widespread cyanobacterium is Nostoc flagelliforme, which appears as a hair-like colony form on the soil surface [4]. The natural ecological recovery of the N supplier N. flagelliforme as well as vegetation coverage should be a very long process. Environments 2016, 3, 14 immediate measures such as grass planting or afforestation for combating desertification, rather than the restoration of N suppliers such as N. flagelliforme.
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