A systematic review on soil microbial shifts under drought stress: A climate-smart agriculture perspective

Major shifts in temperature and rainfall patterns resulting from climate change are projected to continue increasing intensely over the course of the century. Ecosystems' functionality and well-being of above-ground plant community are all significantly impacted by soil microbes' response to these shifting abiotic stresses. With an emphasis on improving their usefulness in climate-smart agriculture (CSA), we reviewed how soil bacteria and fungi tolerate drought stress and improve plant development under water shortage conditions. This systematic analysis used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to elaborate how microbe-based solutions could be incorporated in CSA. A total of 31 articles satisfied the inclusion criteria. The review demonstrated that soil microbial diversity and abundance are considerably altered by drought stress, improve resilience of plants and soil functionality. There was a further observation of high microbial community in the endosphere, and rhizosphere as compared to bulk soil; a clear indication of plants' potential to facilitate soil microbial assemblages. Evidently, plants under drought conditions exude metabolites that stimulate drought-tolerant microbes; that in-turn promote the plants' tolerance to drought. Accordingly, this remarkable synergy between microbes and plants could help forecast how agroecosystems would function in the face of climate change.