Abstract
Reducing soil degradation and its impacts on the environment have been one of the main challenges of the 21st century, exacerbated by a direct link between increases in the human population and soil degradation that raises current and future food security concerns. Despite this, experiences worldwide reveal that degraded land restoration projects have either achieved little success or failed. Thus, understanding the underlying causes and devising appropriate restoration mechanisms is crucial. Soil amelioration using beneficial microorganisms, particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), is essential and pragmatic. Glomalin, a type of glycoprotein produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the phylum Glomeromycota, contributes to the mitigation of soil degradation. Moreover, AMF and glomalin are highly correlated with other soil physico-chemical parameters and are sensitive to changes in the environment. As a result of this, they have been recommended for monitoring the recovery of degraded soil or stages of soil degradation. In this review, we discuss the role of AMF and glomalin in the restoration of degraded soils, including improvements to the soil structure and soil organic matter (SOM), microbial activity, reduction of fertility loss, bioremediation, and mitigation of the effects of drought and saline stress. We highlight the research gaps and discuss the prospects. This knowledge will improve our understanding of the ecological conduct of glomalin and AMF, stimulate future research, and be useful to sustainable restoration of degraded lands. Furthermore, we discussed the challenges and obstacles in the legislation and future perspectives on the production of inoculants based on AMF in Brazil.
Highlights
Reducing soil degradation and its impacts on the environment has been one of the main challenges of the 21st century
A type of glycoprotein produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the phylum Glomeromycota, contributes to the mitigation of soil degradation
Wang et al (2015) found that the fraction of EEGRSP was significantly higher, while the DE-glomalin-related soil protein” (GRSP) and T-GRSP induced by mycorrhization were dependent on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) genotype since the hypha diameter, the hypha wall thickness, and its branching pattern collectively influenced the production of GRSP
Summary
Reducing soil degradation and its impacts on the environment has been one of the main challenges of the 21st century. The manifold risks created by pollution, landslides, drought, and pandemics (e.g., COVID-19 in which recovery rates hypothetically correlate with healthy diet and soil quality, since soils with optimal nutrients, water and air produce healthy crops) are aggravated by a skyrocketing human population, lifestyle changes, and inappropriate use of technology (Landrigan et al, 2018). Given this scenario, soil restoration has become a cause of concern for global leaders and has been an important theme of global environmental policies (Jacobs et al, 2015). The monitoring of AMF and glomalin in the soil is of fundamental importance to identifying the stage of soil degradation/recovery
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
