Soil and root microbiome of hot arid natural desert ecosystems in Saudi Arabia

Understanding the key factors that allow plants to establish in hot desert environment, as well as their associated microbial diversity, is crucial to the comprehension and preservation of these ecosystems. Saudi Arabia in the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the driest regions in the world, with a very low water regime and low soil nutrient contents. The establishment of an ecosystem in these arid desert conditions is therefore subject to numerous constraints. Understanding the biotic and abiotic factors linked to the formation of fertility islands, from the perspective of soil composition and its associated microbiome, both in the soil and in the roots of associated plant community, is therefore a fundamental issue for the preservation of these ecosystems.