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Microbiology of Tropical Soils and Plant Productivity pp 147–168Cite as

Free — living blue — green algae in tropical soils

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Part of the book series: Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences ((DPSS,volume 5))

Abstract

One result of the fertilizer price increase during the last decade is a renewed interest in biological N2 fixation as a means of reducing the use of N fertilizer. However, biological N2 fixation requires energy generally obtained by the catabolism of photosynthetically fixed carbon (photosynthate). Among the N2 -fixing microorganisms, only blue-green algae (BGA) are able to generate their own photosynthate from CO2 and water. This trophic independence makes BGA especially attractive as a biofertilizer. The agronomic potential of BGA was recognized in 1939 by De [14], who attributed the natural fertility of tropical paddy fields to N2 -fixing BGA. Since rice forms the staple diet of a high proportion of the world’s population in areas where N fertilizer is rarely available, research on BGA in tropical soils has been focussed mainly on the paddy field ecosystem. Relative to the amount known about paddy soils, very little is known about other soils.

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  1. P. A. Roger
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  2. P. A. Reynaud
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  1. Laboratoire de Biologie des Sols, CNRS/ORSTOM, B.P. 1386, Dakar, Senegal

    Y. R. Dommergues  & H. G. Diem  & 

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© 1982 Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague/Boston/London

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Roger, P.A., Reynaud, P.A. (1982). Free — living blue — green algae in tropical soils. In: Dommergues, Y.R., Diem, H.G. (eds) Microbiology of Tropical Soils and Plant Productivity. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7529-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7529-3_5

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