Chinese researchers are pioneering a radical form of geoengineering, using specially selected cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) to create living, soil-stabilizing crusts on shifting sand dunes. Scientists at the Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station aim to treat 5,333-6,667 hectares of desert within five years, accelerating a natural process that normally takes decades.
Desert reclamation has always been a battle against moving sand, where plants struggle to take root. Now, a team in Northwest China is flipping the script by deploying life that existed 3.5 billion years ago as its primary tool. Their innovation involves dropping solid “seed” blocks containing hardy cyanobacteria onto the arid landscape. When rain arrives, these microbes spring to life, spreading to form a tough, cohesive crust that anchors the sand, reported China Science Daily. This “ecological skin” can withstand winds up to 36km/h (22mph) and creates a fertile foundation for future vegetation.
“These soil blocks are not only easy to transport, but they also boast a very high survival rate,” said Zhao Yang, deputy director of the Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station, who led the development. This technique marks a significant evolution from the station’s famous “straw checkerboard” method, offering a biological shortcut to stability. Where traditional techniques require five to ten years to form a natural crust, the algal method can achieve it in roughly one year.
The project is part of China’s monumental Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Programme, popularly known as the Great Green Wall. For decades, this initiative has combated desertification through mass tree planting. The algal crusting technology, developed over more than a decade of research, represents a sophisticated, next-generation tool in that fight. It transforms the reclamation process from purely mechanical to fundamentally biological, leveraging microbes to do the initial, crucial work of terraforming.
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The journey to this breakthrough was not simple. Early attempts failed because lab-thriving bacteria couldn’t survive the harsh desert. A 2016 breakthrough involved spraying the cyanobacteria under pressure into sand grain gaps, boosting survival over 60%. But this method was impractical for vast, remote deserts. The team’s elegant solution was to create portable “seeds.” They selected seven optimal strains from over 300 species, mixing them with organic matter into a paste molded into hexagonal blocks. These durable units can be scattered across dunes, lying dormant until rainfall triggers rapid growth.
The implications extend far beyond China’s borders, stated China Science Daily. As the Great Green Wall initiative expands cooperation to Africa and Mongolia, this microbial geoengineering offers a scalable, potentially planet-altering technology. It provides a way to rapidly secure desert margins, protecting agricultural land and reducing dust storms. In July, China announced the completion of a 1,856km (1,153-mile) sand control belt in Inner Mongolia, covering 94,700 sq km. The algal method could enable even faster, more durable expansions of such barriers.
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Ultimately, this is more than just advanced sand control. It’s a profound demonstration of working with ancient biology to solve modern environmental crises. By jump-starting the very first step in soil creation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) scientists are not just planting trees—they are engineering the ground itself, creating the conditions for life to return to some of the Earth’s most inhospitable places.
