Seeding of Large Areas with Biological Soil Crust Starter Culture Formulations: Using an Aircraft Disbursable Granulate to Increase Stability, Fertility and CO2 Sequestration on a Landscape Scale

Microbial consortia found in biological soil crusts can mitigate climate change and assist agriculture. Cyanobacteria and other biological soil crust (BSC) microorganisms have fulfilled essential roles in the global ecosystem by fertilizing arid soils and stabilizing them from wind and water erosion. Using only photosynthesis, ambient minerals and water, these microorganisms directly capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen. As the crust matures, sugars and nutrients biologically manufactured by the crust infuse down into the soil for the benefit of other plants and microorganisms. The development of aircraft and GPS based technology to selectively seed starter cultures of BSCs across large landscapes will enable the resultant colonies to become a highly scalable agent that naturally mitigates the effects of climate change and can find application both in arid or desert lands and for agriculture. This paper will present the case for scaling up the research, development and application of a cyanobacteria based soil crust inoculant called TerraDerm when it is applied to arid land ecosystems and AgriDerm when it is formulated for agricultural ecosystems.