Soil Constraints in an Arid Environment—Challenges, Prospects, and Implications

• Published in: Agronomy (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 220
• Main Authors: Naorem, Anandkumar, Jayaraman, Somasundaram, Dang, Yash P., Dalal, Ram C., Sinha, Nishant K., Rao, Ch. Srinivasa, Patra, Ashok K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agriculture; Arid environments; Arid zones; Aridity; Biodiversity; calcareous; Climate change; Climate effects; Climate models; Crop growth; Crop yield; Crops; Deserts; Drainage management; Drought; drylands; Earth; Environment models; Environmental hazards; Erosion rates; Food; Food quality; Food security; gypsic; Irrigation; Land area; Land degradation; Neutrality; Nutrient cycles; Nutrients; Optimization; Organic carbon; Organic soils; plant growth promoting bacteria; Precipitation; Rain; salinity; Salinization; Soil amendment; Soil conditions; Soil erosion; Soil fertility; Soil microorganisms; Soil salinity; Soil structure; Terrestrial ecosystems; Vegetation cover; Water scarcity; Water shortages; Asia; Egypt; Africa
• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13010220
• EISSN: 2073-4395

Climate models project that many terrestrial ecosystems will become drier over the course of this century, leading to a drastic increase in the global extent of arid soils. In order to decrease the effects of climate change on global food security, it is crucial to understand the arid environment and the constraints associated with arid soils. Although the effects of aridity on aboveground organisms have been studied extensively, our understanding of how it affects soil processes and nutrient cycling is lacking. One of the primary agricultural constraints, particularly in arid locations, is water scarcity, due to which arid soils are characterized by sparse vegetation cover, low soil organic carbon, poor soil structure, reduced soil biodiversity, and a high rate of soil erosion via wind. Increased aridity will limit the availability of essential plant nutrients and crop growth, and subsequently pose serious threats to key ecological processes and services. The increasing rate of soil salinization is another major environmental hazard that further limits the agricultural potential of arid soils. These soil constraints can be ameliorated and the crop yields increased through case-specific optimization of irrigation and drainage management, enhancing the native beneficial soil microbes, and combinations of soil amendments, conditioners, and residue management. This review explores technologies to ameliorate soil constraints and increase yields to maintain crop output in arid soils.