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The Mediterranean basin is highly susceptible to climate change, with soil salinization and the increase in average temperatures being two of the main factors affecting crop productivity in this region. Following our previous studies on describing the detrimental effects of heat and salt stress co-exposure on tomato plants, this study aimed to understand if substrate supplementation with a combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biochar could mitigate the negative consequences of these stresses. Upon 21 days of exposure, stressed tomato plants grown under supplemented substrates showed increased tolerance to heat (42 °C for 4 h/day), salt (100 mM NaCl), and their combination, presenting increased biomass and flowering rate. The beneficial effects of AMF and biochar were associated with a better ionic balance (i.e. lower sodium accumulation and higher uptake of calcium and magnesium) and increased photosynthetic efficiency. Indeed, these plants presented higher chlorophyll content and improved CO
Sousa et al. (2024) studied this question.