Cyanobacterial inoculation (cyanobacterisation): Perspectives for the development of a standardized multifunctional technology for soil fertilization and desertification reversal

The use of cyanobacteria as soil conditioners has been studied intermittently for many decades. Some of the documented direct effects of cyanobacterial inoculation are related to soil stabilization and improvement, enrichment in nutrients and increase in moisture content. While the first attempts to develop a technology were mostly aimed at improving agricultural conditions, more recently inoculation approaches have proven to be effective tools also for triggering land rehabilitation in arid and semiarid environments. This review aims to provide, for the first time, an overview of the outcomes of the application of such a technology i) to support agricultural practices in soil with poor fertility, and ii) to trigger the formation of complex microbial biolayers (biological soil crusts) on unconsolidated arid soils to counteract, and possibly reverse the spread of desertification. This review also evidences the critical points for developing a proficient technology, trying to propose a general workflow to adapt for each considered study case, according to the objectives of the treatment.