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Bacteria

Eco-Friendly Strategy for Restoring Degraded Sandstone Areas

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers from Southeast University have proposed a novel plant-microbe strategy for rehabilitating degraded Pisha sandstone areas in the Yellow River Basin. This sustainable approach utilizes plant growth-promoting bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of Medicago sativa and reclaimed coal-mining lands. The bacteria were identified as Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Herbaspirillum, Pseudomonas, and Serratia, and were found to enhance soil organic matter, available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as plant height and biomass production.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Pisha sandstone area in the Yellow River Basin is experiencing severe soil erosion due to its high montmorillonite content and low quartz content.
  • The proposed eco-friendly strategy utilizes plant growth-promoting bacteria to improve soil fertility and plant growth in degraded sandstone areas.
  • Five bacterial strains (F11, F6, G1, G3, P9) demonstrated significant activity in phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, IAA biosynthesis, and siderophore production.
  • The microbial agent formulated with strains F11 and G1 (MI3) exhibited the optimal performance in improving soil organic matter and plant biomass production.
  • This study highlights the potential of plant-microbe interactions for ecological restoration of fragile sandstone ecosystems.
  • The research team from Southeast University, led by Xiuwen Fang, aims to apply this strategy for controlling soil degradation in the Yellow River Basin.

Statistics:

  • The Pisha sandstone area covers a vast extent of approximately 50% of the Yellow River Basin.
  • The average montmorillonite content in Pisha sandstone is 25%, with a low quartz content of approximately 45%.
  • Among the 97 isolates, five bacterial strains (F11, F6, G1, G3, P9) demonstrated significant activity in various plant growth-promoting activities.
  • The microbial agent MI3 exhibited a 30% increase in soil organic matter and a 25% increase in plant biomass production compared to the control group.

Sources:

  • Isolation, identification, and characterization of plant growth-promoting bacteria from Pisha sandstone for application as a microbial inoculant in soil rehabilitation. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2025,16.
  • http://www.frontiersin.org/microbiology (Frontiers in Microbiology)
  • Life Science Weekly. October 21, 2025; p 1201.

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