In this research cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae, BGA) were isolated, identified, multiplied and used as an inoculum in pot rice experiment. The pH, moisture and algal population were measured in four seasons. The highest and lowest pH (6.7, 6.2), moisture of soil (43%, 34%) and algal population (12, 20 Colony-Forming Units/50 ml on A and B medium and 4, 5 Colony-Forming Units/50 ml on A and B medium) were recorded in spring and winter, respectively. The only heterocystous cyanobacteria were found in soil samples identified as Anabaena with four species (A. spiroides, A. variabilis, A. torulosa and A. osillarioides). The germination of rice seeds treated with cyanobacteria was faster than control. The result of pot experiment were: increase of 53% in plant height; 66% in roots length; 58% in fresh leaf and stem weight; 80% in fresh root weight; 125% in dry leaf and stem weight; 150% in dry root weight; 20% in soil moisture; 28% in soil porosity and a decrease of 9.8% in soil bulk density and 4.8% in soil particle density. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in pot treated with BGA as compared with control.

There are several places in the world where the level of natural radiation is unusually high, such as some regions of Ramsar and Abegarm-e-Mahallat in Iran. Such places are still insufficiently explored in terms of their biodiversity. In this study, strains isolated from six geothermal springs with elevated natural radiation were investigated. The highest concentration of 226 Ra were 13,000 Bq.kg-1 in the soil and 130 Bq.l-1 in water respectively. The morphological and molecular analyses revealed, that the strains are not classifiable to any existing taxon. Therefore, they are described as new taxa for science. Based on results of our study, two earlier described species are transferred into newly established genus.

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