The Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Technologies at Dnipro University of Technology is actively expanding its scientific cooperation with European partners, focusing on the EU's current priorities in the field of sustainable development, biotechnology and bioeconomics.

At the Technical University ‘Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg’ (Germany) Professor of the Department of Ecology Alexander Kovrov and a second-year student Yulia Ishchenko began biological research aimed at studying bio-crust algae and microorganisms, with a scientific focus on soil quality restoration.

In the biological laboratory of TUBAF

Biocrust – It is a thin surface layer of soil formed by a complex of living organisms: cyanobacteria, green algae, mosses, lichens and fungi. Biocrust is widespread in arid and degraded ecosystems and performs a number of critically important ecological functions:

• Soil stabilisation: microorganisms and algae form a dense matrix that reduces erosion.
• Enriching the soil with nitrogen and organic matter: cyanobacteria fix nitrogen, while algae perform photosynthesis, creating primary biomass.
• Water management: biocrust retains moisture, facilitates water infiltration and reduces evaporation.

Soil algae – green and diatom algae – play a special role in the structure of biocrust. These algae provide photosynthetic activity in the early stages of biocrust formation, promote the formation of biopolymers that bind soil particles, and create conditions for subsequent colonisation by fungi, mosses and lichens.

In modern science, biocrust and soil algae are considered a natural tool for the rehabilitation of degraded land after man-made or military impact. Their cultivation in laboratory conditions opens up prospects for biotechnological applications in phytoremediation, recultivation of desert and disturbed areas, and improvement of carbon and water balance in the context of climate change.

Cultivation of biocrust in a biocamera

After initial experiments, our scientists are expanding their research in several directions. In particular, samples of technogenic soils collected around the Dnipro Metallurgical Plant are being used for laboratory cultivation of bio-crust algae, creation of a collection of soil algae and cyanobacteria cultures isolated from different types of soil, and determination of their physiological and biochemical characteristics (photosynthetic activity, biopolymer production, nitrogen fixation capacity). Experiments on the formation of artificial biocrust, modelling the development of biocrust on degraded and salinated substrates, and assessing the effectiveness of soil particle fixation and erosion reduction deserve special attention.

Preparation of samples of man-made soils for cultivation

Thus, the study of biocrust and soil algae forms the basis for the development of innovative solutions aimed at the sustainable restoration of ecosystems.

We wish the young scientists of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Technologies new scientific achievements in Freiberg, expansion of European partnerships and enhancement of the image of Dnipro University of Technology!