Salt stress tolerance mechanisms and potential applications of legumes for sustainable reclamation of salt-degraded soils

Soil salinity is considered one of the most detrimental environmental problems affecting the productivity of many agricultural crops, with negative effects on seed germination, plant vigour, and crop yields. To mitigate these negative effects, it is necessary to restrategize and identify viable options that are environmentally and economically applicable for sustainable agriculture. This review summarizes and evaluates soil reclamation strategies that have been employed and those that could potentially be used, concentrating on the use of legume crops. Apart from the fact that legumes have many nutritional benefits as foods, they are also an attractive option to refertilize degraded and nitrogen-deficient soils. Thus, the potential use of grain, grass, shrubby, and tree legumes to restore degraded soils requires evaluation. In this paper, we discuss and evaluate why legumes should be considered and used for the reclamation of degraded soils, with a particular focus on salt-degraded soils. Globally relevant case-studies that demonstrate how legumes could be used to reclaim salt-degraded soils are highlighted.