Harnessing Soil Microbiota for Sustainable Agriculture in Arid Iberian

Regions

João Barnabé1,2, Lucas Amoroso Lopes de Carvalho1,3, Tatiana Gil1, João Silva 1, Isabel Videira
e Castro2, Juan Ignacio Vilchez1

1
Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2780-157 Oeiras,
Portugal
2
INIAV, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Portugal.
3
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP/FCAV), Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil.
*Corresponding author: joao.barnabe@itqb.unl.pt; nacho.vilchez@itqb.unl.pt

Facing the challenges of climate change in the arid regions of the Iberian Peninsula requires
innovative approaches to sustain agriculture, particularly for essential crops like beans and
soybeans. This study explores the native microbiota associated with drought-resistant legumes
such as Medicago sativa (Alfalfa) and Bituminaria bituminosa (Pitch trefoil), which thrive under
these conditions. Our extensive fieldwork involved collecting soil samples from over 60 locations,
leading to the isolation of more than 200 bacterial strains. Key plant growth-promoting bacteria
identified include Bacillus subtilis (Bacillaceae), Pseudomonas arcuscaelestis
(Pseudomonadaceae), Cellulosimicrobium cellulans (Microbacteriaceae), Peribacillus simplex
(Bacillaceae), Enterobacter ludwigii (Enterobacteriaceae), Bacillus mycoides (Bacillaceae),
Bacillus halotolerans (Bacillaceae), and Priestia sp. (Bacillaceae).
Collecting these bacteria from extremely dry and poor soils highlights the soil’s dynamic nature
and the ability of these microbes to survive harsh conditions. Our study found considerable
differences across the 60 soil samples tested, with humidity (H%) varying from 4.9% to 11.5%,
electrical conductivity (EC) from 238 to 6111 µS/cm, and pH from 6.31 to 8.35. These variations
show how different environmental factors influence microbial diversity and activity. The
importance of collecting bacteria from such challenging environments lies in their potential to
enhance the resilience of crops-relative species to drought. These bacteria can support plant
growth by improving nutrient availability, promoting root growth, and increasing plants’ overall
stress tolerance. For sustainable farming, utilizing these native soil bacteria could lead to more
robust crop production, even under adverse climate conditions. By studying these soil microbes,
we aim to develop microbial technologies that can help mitigate the impacts of climate change on
agriculture, promoting sustainable farming practices that ensure food security in arid regions.

Keywords: Soil microbiota, Drought resilience, Sustainable agriculture, Plant growth-promoting

bacteria, Mitigation.