ABSTRACT
Wind erosion is a natural phenomenon that has been widening due to anthropogenic activities. One-third of the global land area suffers from wind erosion and its prevention is a critical issue in many arid regions of the world. Crusts on soil surfaces are well recognized for wind erosion control. In the last two decades, the use of biotechnological methods for crust formation on the soil surface has been developed. This paper presents the results of the wind tunnel experiments and the penetrometer tests conducted on a biocrust created by Microcoleus vaginatus cyanobacterium and a biocemented sand crust induced by precipitation of calcium carbonate by Bacillus megaterium bacterium. The biocemented sand crust had more resistance than the biocrust against wind erosion; however, both crusts reduced the amount of erosion several thousand times.
