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Pioneering plant projects promise regeneration

KAUST · · Notable

Research Ecology Partnership Sustainability Infrastructure

Summary

KAUST researchers are contributing new information about desert and mangrove plants to support Saudi Arabia's Green Initiative. They are creating a soil atlas for Saudi Arabia, studying soil profiles and microbial populations in hyperarid regions. The team has also compiled the world’s largest biobank of desert microbes, sequencing each microbe's genome. Why it matters: This research is crucial for ensuring the success and sustainability of large-scale greening efforts in arid environments like Saudi Arabia.

Keywords

KAUST · Saudi Green Initiative · Desertification · Microbes · Soil Atlas

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Feeding the world in a changing climate

KAUST ·

KAUST's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Food Security (CoE-SFS) has launched 12 translation projects focused on plant growth and water security, establishing partnerships with public and private entities to scale up research. Mark Tester's team developed stress-tolerant rootstocks, grafted onto crops like tomatoes, that thrive in hot, dry conditions with increased yields. Through his start-up Iyris, Tester is conducting commercial field trials in over 12 countries. Why it matters: These efforts to adapt agriculture to environmental change are crucial for ensuring food security in Saudi Arabia, the region, and globally, especially in the face of climate change and limited water resources.