Potential Role of Microbes in Soil Fertility Restoration in Arid Zones

Suruchi Rai; Barsha Datta; Sayasta Ahmed; Rakshak Kumar

doi:10.56093/aaz.v65i2.176027

Authors

Suruchi Rai Department of Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9579-8850
Barsha Datta Department of Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9401-8686
Sayasta Ahmed Department of Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0180-4913
Rakshak Kumar Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala Tripura-799022

https://doi.org/10.56093/aaz.v65i2.176027

Keywords:

Arid soil, Dryland microbiome, Microbial adaptation, Microbe-based restoration , Soil fertility

Abstract

Arid lands are distributed across multiple climatic regions worldwide and play an important role in supporting communities by providing key ecosystem services and natural resources. However, the lands are constrained by chronic water scarcity, extreme temperatures, intense solar radiation, and high evapotranspiration, all of which severely limit biological productivity. Arid soils are typically poor in organic matter, weakly aggregated, often saline or alkaline, and nutrient-depleted, making them highly vulnerable to soil erosion and long-term degradation. Harsh conditions also alter soil microbial communities by reducing microbial abundance, shifting community composition toward stress-tolerant taxa, weakening enzymatic activity, and disrupting nutrient cycling processes essential for ecosystem functioning and vegetation establishment. Despite such constraints, arid soils harbour highly specialized microbial communities that exhibit diverse physiological and genomic adaptations enabling survival under extreme conditions. The current review discusses the challenges in arid environments, the understanding of microbial communities and their adaptive strategies in arid soils, and how these traits contribute to soil fertility restoration across diverse dryland ecosystems. It further evaluates key microbe-driven restoration mechanisms, including reactivation of biogeochemical cycles, the role of native microorganisms as ecological engineers, and plant-microbe-mediated interactions that enhance overall soil health. Finally, the review highlights key limitations of current restoration approaches, including limited long-term field validation, unpredictable microbial interactions, and insufficient functional understanding of introduced microbes. Based on the limitations, the review provides recommendations for future studies, emphasizing the integration of multi-omics approaches, trait-based microbial selection, and long-term ecosystem monitoring for developing effective and scalable microbial solutions for restoring degraded arid soils.

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Author Biographies

Suruchi Rai, Department of Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India

Suruchi Rai is a Ph.D Scholar in the Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics at Tripura University. Her current research focuses on lake microbiomes, microbial adaptations in aquatic ecosystems using metagenomics and multi-omics approaches. She has authored three book chapters and one review article.
Barsha Datta, Department of Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India

Barsha Datta is a Ph.D Scholar in the Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics at Tripura University. Her current research focuses on soil microbiomes, microbial adaptations in stressed environments, and the development of prospective bioinoculants for sustainable agriculture. She has authored three book chapters.
Sayasta Ahmed, Department of Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799022, India

Sayasta Ahmed is a Ph.D Scholar in the Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics at Tripura University. Her research focuses on soil microbiomes of land-use systems using advanced metagenomic approaches and the development of prospective bioinoculants for soil health improvement. She has authored three book chapters.
Rakshak Kumar, Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala Tripura-799022

Rakshak Kumar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics at Tripura University, India, with research expertise spanning environmental microbiology, microbial genomics, extremophiles, cryosphere microbiology, waste valorization, probiotics, and sustainable agriculture. He obtained his Ph.D from North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, and has more than 15 years of research experience focused on understanding microbial adaptation and ecosystem functioning in extreme Himalayan environments. His research has made significant contributions towards deciphering the diversity, ecological functioning, and genomic adaptation of cold-adapted microbiomes inhabiting glaciers, high-altitude cryospheres, and other environmentally stressed ecosystems of the Indian Himalaya. Through the integration of metagenomics, microbial community dynamics, comparative genomics, and culture-dependent approaches, his work has advanced the understanding of how psychrotrophic and extremophilic microorganisms contribute to nutrient cycling, ecological succession, environmental resilience, and climate-responsive ecosystem processes in glacier-associated habitats. His studies have also contributed to the discovery and bioprospecting of novel microbial strains with applications in bioinoculant development, stress alleviation, nutrient recycling, sustainable agriculture, and biocontrol. In addition to cryosphere microbiology, Dr. Kumar’s research actively explores plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), microbial interventions for sustainable agriculture in cold, arid, acidic, and saline soils, and microbial strategies for environmental restoration and waste management. His interdisciplinary research combines microbial ecology with biotechnology to develop climate-resilient and ecologically sustainable solutions for fragile ecosystems and agricultural landscapes. Dr. Kumar has authored more than 81 scientific publications in reputed international journals and has led several research projects funded by major agencies including DST, DBT, CSIR, ANRF, MoMSME, and MoEF&CC, Government of India. Among his notable recognitions, he was selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), reflecting his growing contributions to microbial ecology, environmental microbiology, and Himalayan cryosphere research. He is also a recipient of the prestigious INSPIRE Faculty Award from the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

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