Prevention of Soil Erosion Using Microalgae in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract With rapid urbanization and economic development, soil erosion may occur at an alarming rate causing serious environmental problems globally including Malaysia. The current control methods such as ground covers and slope drains are expensive and not eco-friendly. Therefore, Biological Soil Crust (BSC) method can be a better alternative to prevent the soil erosion. However, most studies were focusing on in temperate and dry areas. In this work, our objectives were i) to cultivate Malaysia’s indigenous species BSC forming algae, ii) to culture the algal strain in POME medium at different concentrations, and iii) to test soil erosion in the presence of BSC. Our results have shown that algal growth had increased with the decrease of POME concentration; the algal growth was highest at the concentration of 20%. Also, the results from soil erosion tests have demonstrated that soil covered with BSC has improved soil stability by 135% compared to the soil without BSC. This suggests that BSC application is promising in preventing soil erosion. This paper is the first of its kind with the aim of providing an information on the isolation of Malaysia’s local strain in palm oil mill effluent (POME) for BSC application in the tropical climate region.