Revegetation of native desert plants enhances food security and water sustainability in arid regions: Integrated modeling assessment

Quinoa is a dicotyledonous species for seeds and, therefore, is not known as a cereal grain and is a pseudograin, which is introduced nowadays as a new crop in the world. Population growth and the need for more food put additional pressure on the environment, especially on water resources and agronomic ecosystems. This has led to more attention to plants that grow at different latitudes and altitudes. Climatic and environmental changes affect agricultural inputs, especially water resources. So, the best way of adapting to the current situation is the introduction of low-water, salt resistant, and drought-tolerant plants to the recent climatic changes. Water scarcity has become a serious problem in many countries. This restriction has had a significant impact on the development of countries. The plants which grow in arid and semi-arid regions are often exposed to adverse environmental factors, such as drought or salinity. Salinity and drought stress, more than any other factor, decrease crop yields around the world. These two abiotic stresses are the main limiting factors for crop production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Quinoa is an exceptional plant that can adapt to adverse conditions and can serve as a solution to the challenge of global food security. Recent droughts that occurred in the world have prompted governments to include plants in their development plans, which are adapted to the country's existing water and soil conditions and have high nutritional value. This way, quinoa cultivation can ensure their food security in the coming years.

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Comparative Study of the Rhizosphere and Root Endosphere Microbiomes of Cholistan Desert Plants

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2021.618742 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Salma Mukhtar ◽

Samina Mehnaz ◽

Kauser Abdulla Malik

Keyword(s):

Microbial Diversity ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Soil Moisture Content ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Arid Environments ◽

Desert Plants ◽

Limited Information ◽

Cholistan Desert ◽

Capparis Decidua

Microbial communities associated with the rhizosphere and roots of desert halophytes play an important role in plants’ growth and development. Very limited information has been available on the microbial diversity of arid environments of Pakistan. Hence in the current study, the microbial diversity of rhizosphere and root endosphere of desert halophytes, Zygophyllum simplex, Haloxylon salicoricum, Aerva javanica, and Capparis decidua was evaluated. The rhizosphere and root endosphere samples of desert halophytes collected from the three geographic sites of Cholistan desert, Punjab, Pakistan were analyzed by using 16S rRNA based Illumina sequencing. The results showed that Proteobacteria were more abundant in the rhizospheric soils while Actinobacteria were more dominant in the root endosphere of halophytes. Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Deinococcus-Thermus were identified from all rhizospheric soils and roots across the three sites, with variable percentage. Bacillus, Kocuria, Pseudomonas, Halomonas, and Flavobacterium were commonly identified from the rhizosphere and root endosphere of halophytes across all the three sites. At the genus level, microbial diversity from Haloxylon showed the greatest variations between the rhizosphere and root endosphere from the site 2. This study revealed that microbial diversity analysis can be used to study how changes in abiotic factors such as soil moisture content and salinity affect the microbial communities associated with the rhizospheric soils and root endosphere of halophytes across the three sites. This study will also help in the discovery of potential inoculants for crops growing in arid and semi-arid regions of Pakistan.

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Food Security in a Changing Climate

The Pakistan Development Review ◽

10.30541/v47i4iipp.815-816 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 47 (4II) ◽

pp. 815-816

Author(s):

M. E. Tusneem

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Production Systems ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Agriculture Sector ◽

Marginal Production ◽

Temperature Regimes ◽

Production Areas ◽

Semi Arid

Agriculture sector is more vulnerable to climate change than other sectors of the economy as climate change is expected to cause higher variability in rainfall pattern, general reduction in precipitation in the arid and semi-arid regions and increase in the frequency of extreme events such as drought, floods, heat and frost. Agriculture production systems, therefore, have to cope with more variability in river water flows and temperature regimes, making food security susceptible to these variation. The less privileged people/farmers who are often located in the marginal production areas such as rainfed, coastal, and mountenace, are likely to be affected more by climate variability whether drought or floods, heat or frost. These changes in climate enhance the risk of crop failures and livestock morality thereby causing financial and economic losses and the risk of food insecurity.

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Growing food with less water: Chilean research team finds solutions in extreme environments

10.53014/chus2517 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ashley Webb

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Water Stress ◽

Research Team ◽

Extreme Environments ◽

Desert Plants ◽

Survival And Growth

Droughts pose a growing risk to food security. Glasshouse experiments show that tomatoes inoculated with rhizobacteria from ephemeral flowering desert plants exhibit greater rates of survival and growth when subjected to periods of water stress.

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Agricultural adaptation to reconcile food security and water sustainability under climate change: the case of cereals in Iran

10.1002/essoar.10506814.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fatemeh Karandish ◽

Hamideh Nouri ◽

Joep Schyns

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Water Sustainability ◽

Agricultural Adaptation

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Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.: A Multi-Benefit Potential to Be Exploited

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26040951 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 951

Author(s):

Mafalda Alexandra Silva ◽

Tânia Gonçalves Albuquerque ◽

Paula Pereira ◽

Renata Ramalho ◽

Filipa Vicente ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Bioactive Compounds ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Food Products ◽

Prickly Pear ◽

Opuntia Ficus Indica ◽

Antioxidant Power ◽

The World ◽

Semi Arid

Consumer interest in foods with enhanced nutritional quality has increased in recent years. The nutritional and bioactive characterization of fruits and their byproducts, as well as their use in the formulation of new food products, is advisable, contributing to decrease the global concerns related to food waste and food security. Moreover, the compounds present in these raw materials and the study of their biological properties can promote health and help to prevent some chronic diseases. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (prickly pear) is a plant that grows wild in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, being a food source for ones and a potential for others, but not properly valued. This paper carries out an exhaustive review of the scientific literature on the nutritional composition and bioactive compounds of prickly pear and its constituents, as well as its main biological activities and applications. It is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins and bioactive compounds. Many of its natural compounds have interesting biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and antimicrobial. The antioxidant power of prickly pear makes it a good candidate as an ingredient of new food products with fascinating properties for health promotion and/or to be used as natural extracts for food, pharmaceutic or cosmetic applications. In addition, it could be a key player in food security in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world, where there are often no more plants.

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