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Rhizosphere Perspective on Desertification and Restoration in Drylands
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DOI：10.1016/j.rhisph.2026.101408.png)
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Abstract
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Drylands cover over 40% of Earth’s surface and are vulnerable to desertification driven by vegetation loss and soil degradation. Current perspectives assess desertification through the decrease in plant cover and degradation of soil properties, often neglecting the rhizosphere’s role in regulating ecosystem functioning. Here, we propose a ‘Rhizosphere Perspective’ for interpreting desertification as the loss of microbial hotspots sustained by root-derived C inputs, which govern key soil processes, including microbial activity, nutrient cycling, water fluxes, and soil aggregation. Using a multiscale conceptual perspective, we define three stages of rhizosphere changes within ecological contexts: (i) a functional rhizosphere under preserved vegetation, where continuous root inputs maintain active and connected microbial hotspots; (ii) a disrupted rhizosphere during desertification, where declining plant cover reduces C inputs, leading to microbial limitation, loss of aggregation, and increasing spatial isolation of the remaining hotspots; and (iii) a re-establishing rhizosphere during restoration, where recovery occurs gradually and non-linearly depending on the level of degradation. Thus, restoration should go beyond plant establishment, including the selection of plant species with high rhizodeposition capacity (e.g., perennial grasses with extensive root systems). In addition, inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria can accelerate microbial hotspot reconnection. By linking microscale rhizosphere processes to landscape-scale dynamics, this paper provides a mechanistic framework to understand dryland degradation and offers actionable directions for microbiome-informed restoration under global change.
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