In recent decades, the concentration of trace elements has increased in soil and water, mainly by industrialization and urbanization. Recovery of contaminated areas is generally complex. In that respect, microorganisms can be of vital importance by making significant contributions towards the establishment of plants and the stabilization of impacted areas. Among the available strategies for environmental recovery, bioremediation and phytoremediation outstand. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered the most important type of mycorrhizae for phytoremediation. AMF have broad occurrence in contaminated soils, and evidences suggest they improve plant tolerance to excess of certain trace elements. In this review, the use of AMF in phytoremediation and mechanisms involved in their trace element tolerance are discussed. Additionally, we present some techniques used to study the retention of trace elements by AMF, as well as a summary of studies showing major benefits of AMF for phytoremediation.

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Drylands occupy approximately 41% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. Climate change and land use practices are expected to affect biogeochemical cycling by the soil microbiome in these ecosystems. Understanding how soil microbial community might respond to these drivers is extremely important to mitigate the processes of land degradation and desertification. The Caatinga, an exclusively Brazilian biome composed of an extensive seasonal tropical dry forest, is exposed to variable spatiotemporal rainfall patterns as well as strong human-driven pressures. Herein, an integrated analysis of shotgun metagenomics approach coupled to meteorological data was employed to unravel the impact of seasonality and land use change on soil microbiome from preserved and agriculture-affected experimental fields in Caatinga drylands. Multivariate analysis suggested that microbial communities of preserved soils under seasonal changes were shaped primarily by water deficit, with a strong increase of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria members in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. In contrast, nutrient availability notably played a critical role in driving the microbial community in agriculture-affected soils. The strong enrichment of bacterial genera belonging to the poorly-known phylum Acidobacteria (‘ Candidatus Solibacter’ and ‘ Candidatus Koribacter’) in soils from dry season affected by ferti-irrigation practices presupposes a contrasting copiotrophic lifestyle and ecological role in mitigating the impact of chemical fertilization. Functional analyses identify overrepresented genes related to osmotic stress response (synthesis of osmoprotectant compounds, accumulation of potassium ions) and preferential carbon and nitrogen utilization when comparing the microbiome of preserved soils under seasonal changes, reflecting differences in the genetic potential for nutrient cycling and C acquisition in the environment. However, the prevalence of nitrosative stress and denitrification functions in irrigation/fertilization-affected soils of the dry season clearly suggest that nutrient input and disruption of natural water regime may impact biogeochemical cycles linked to the microbial processes, with potential impacts on the ecosystem functionality. These findings help to better understand how natural seasonality and agricultural management differentially affect soil microbial ecology from dry forests, providing support for the development of more sustainable land management in dryland ecosystems.