Leguminosas nativas: estrategias adaptativas y capacidad para la fijación biológica de nitrógeno. Implicancia ecológica

Abstract

Global warming, loss of biodiversity and desertification are main problems that planet must face. Many native legumes are important components of our arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Most of them present morpho-physiological adaptations to water stress and capacity for biological fixation of nitrogen, which constitutes them as promising species of these desert ecosystems. The objectives of this review are: a) to describe the current situation of desertification and the main adaptive strategies of native legumes in arid and semi-arid zones, and b) to analyze the diversity of microorganisms that nodulate native legumes and their importance in fixing biological nitrogen. This review shows that native legumes and their symbionts represent a unique germplasm that can be adopted for the restoration of degraded ecosystems, in the maintenance of biodiversity and to mitigate the effects of climate change. In addition, the published works show great advances in the rhizobial taxonomy and studies of morpho-anatomical modifications of radical system provides the species tolerance to different stress factors such as drought, salinity, soils with alkaline pH and low soils fertility. There are still many species of native legumes with adaptive characters and ability to establish symbiosis with soil microorganisms that have not been investigated. Therefore, it would be very important to continue with studies in order to apply management strategies and conservation of species of interest to prevent the advance of desertification in arid and semi-arid regions.