A validation framework for translating ethnomicrobiology into microbiome-enabled desert restoration

Abstract

Microbiome-based dryland restoration is promising but weakly validated. We develop ethnomicrobiology, the study of how human communities manage microbial processes, as a discovery-and-validation framework. A structured evidence map of 42 systems shows food fermentation is most mature, whereas restoration practices lag. We propose a five-level evidence-maturity ladder, from traditional observation to governed field deployment, and apply it to waste-biomass valorization, converting traditional practices into mechanistically tested, ethically governed restoration interventions.