Restoring Soil Biodiversity - A Primer.

Robinson et al. (2024). Link here (open access for 50 days from 7th May 2024).

Soil health is crucial for all terrestrial life, supporting, among other processes, food production, water purification and carbon sequestration. Soil biodiversity — the variety of life within soils — is key to these processes and thus key to soil restoration. Human activities that degrade ecosystems threaten soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem processes. Indeed, 75% of the world’s soils are affected by degradation — a figure that could rise to 90% by 2050 if deforestation, overgrazing, urbanisation and other harmful practices persist. Restoring soil biodiversity is a prerequisite for planetary health, and it comes with many challenges and opportunities. Soil directly supports around 60% of all species on Earth, and land degradation poses a major problem for this biodiversity and the ecosystem services that sustain human populations. Indeed, 98% of human calories come from soil, and earthworms alone underpin 6.5% of the world’s grain production. Moreover, the total carbon in terrestrial ecosystems is around 3,170 gigatons (1 gigaton (Gt) = 1 billion metric tons), of which approximately 80% (2,500 Gt) is found in soil. Therefore, restoring soil biodiversity is not just a human need but an ecological and Earth-system imperative. It is pivotal for maintaining ecosystem resilience, sustaining agricultural productivity and mitigating climate change impacts.