In recent years, soil inoculation with cyanobacteria has become one of the most promising biotechnological strategies for restoring soil functionality in degraded drylands because of their critical role in increasing soil fertility and preventing erosion. Nevertheless, in order to fully exploit this biotechnology on a large scale, it must still be shown whether inoculated cyanobacteria are capable of developing in soils with different physicochemical properties, and new candidates adapted to desert conditions must be explored. To evaluate the potential of cyanobacteria for restoring soil functions of degraded dryland soils, in this laboratory study, we analyzed the effect of inoculating three native N‐fixing species (Nostoc commune, Scytonema hyalinum, and Tolypothrix distorta), individually and as a consortium, on soil properties from three different semiarid ecosystems in southeast Spain. The biocrust colonization was monitored by determining chlorophyll a content (the typical surrogate used for biocrust biomass). Other methodologies, such as the analysis of soil spectral response and image classification were also applied for cover estimation of the biocrust. After 3 months, all inoculated soils showed cyanobacteria cover of up to 50%, lower albedo and higher chlorophyll a content. Cyanobacterial inoculation also improved soil functions, as they promoted a significant gain in total organic carbon and total nitrogen in all soils. Among inoculation treatments, Nostoc commune and the mixture of all three species promoted the most cyanobacteria coverage, chlorophyll content, and surface darkening, as well as organic carbon and total nitrogen gains in the soil, highlighting their excellent performance in biocrust development.

中文翻译：

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通过蓝藻接种恢复土壤功能：土壤条件和物种选择的重要性。

近年来，在土壤中接种蓝藻已成为恢复退化旱地土壤功能的最有前途的生物技术策略之一，因为它们在增加土壤肥力和防止侵蚀方面发挥着关键作用。尽管如此，为了大规模充分利用这种生物技术，仍必须证明接种的蓝藻是否能够在具有不同理化性质的土壤中发育，并且必须探索适应沙漠条件的新候选菌。为了评估蓝藻恢复退化旱地土壤功能的潜力，在这项实验室研究中，我们分析了单独和作为联合体接种三种本地固氮物种（Nostoc community、Scytonema hyalinum 和 Tolypothrix distorta）的效果，西班牙东南部三个不同半干旱生态系统的土壤特性。通过确定叶绿素 a 含量（用于生物地壳生物质的典型替代物）来监测生物地壳定植。其他方法，例如土壤光谱响应分析和图像分类，也应用于生物地壳的覆盖估计。3 个月后，所有接种的土壤都显示出高达 50% 的蓝藻覆盖率、更低的反照率和更高的叶绿素 a 含量。蓝藻接种还改善了土壤功能，因为它们促进了所有土壤中总有机碳和总氮的显着增加。在接种处理中，Nostoc 公社和所有三种物种的混合物促进了最多的蓝藻覆盖率、叶绿素含量和表面变黑，