A group of specialists was asked by the Environmental Protection Agency to use their judgment as to which soil variables would be most impacted by five scenarios of climatic change in deserts of North America that could occur over the next 40 years. The following soil characteristics were evaluated in terms of their potential for change: physical, chemical, and biological crusts; the vesicular layer; soil organic matter; organic C and N content; the C/N ratio; carbonate pool; inorganic N, P, and S; salinity levels; micro‐element content; microbial community composition; free‐living microbial N fixation; denitrification; ammonia volatilization; salinization rates; water infiltration; evaporation; lateral flow and leaching; wind and water erosion; and litter decomposition...