Although some deserts are dry, barren, desolate places, the definition of desert only requires it to have little precipitation.
A better term for such a particularly barren area is a wasteland.
A desert
not
Barren; desolate
Wasteland: 1. A land that is desolate, barren, or ravaged. 2. A place, era, or aspect of life considered as lacking in spiritual, aesthetic, or other humanizing qualities; a vacuum.
Desolate is not a positive, so it is a negative.
Foliage doesn't really have exact antonyms, but in various contexts antonyms could be found. 'Treeless' and 'deforested' are also pretty close. Ex: "[ant. foliage] environment" barren bleak exposed desolate stark arid
not
Barren; desolate.
a dry bareen piece of land
The abandoned village looked desolate as the crumbling buildings stood empty and overgrown with weeds.
The tundra is like a frozen wasteland, desolate and barren.
Barren; desolate
desolate, empty, desert, waste, infertile, sterile, childless, unproductive
hilly, flat, green, parched, undulating, barren, fertile, desolate,
A barren or desolate area, especially:a. A dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.b. A region of permanent cold that is largely or entirely devoid of life.c. An apparently lifeless area of water.2. An empty or forsaken place; a wasteland: a cultural desert.3. Archaic A wild, uncultivated, and uninhabited region.adj.1. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or inhabiting a desert: desert fauna.2. Barren and uninhabited; desolate: a desert island.
A barren is an area of low fertility and habitation.
The area of Barren River Lake is 40.873 square kilometers.
The area of Barren Grounds Nature Reserve is 20.24 square kilometers.