Soil biodiversity needs policy without borders

The growing awareness that the sustainability of life on Earth depends on healthy soils, and that soil biodiversity is under considerable threat, has led to numerous recent research initiatives. However, the majority of these lack a holistic view on how biological, physical, and chemical properties of soil are integrated, and how soil biodiversity across the globe is connected by human activities. While the surge in research has led to major advances in our understanding of the distribution and functional roles of soil biodiversity, the next challenge is to cross borders between disciplines and nations. The developing concept of soil health might facilitate a multi-disciplinary approach within soil sciences, for example by a search for integrated operational indicators. However, a transdisciplinary approach involving social sciences, spatial planning, policy design and, our focus here, soil biodiversity and its functions, will be needed in order to prevent negative footprints across borders. We explore the current state of soil biodiversity research and discuss the integration of knowledge across disciplines and initiatives to fulfil current needs for a sustainable future.

VAN DER PUTTEN Wim;  BARDGETT R.D.;  FARFAN Monica;  MONTANARELLA Luca;  SIX Johan;  WALL Diana; 

2023-01-17

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

JRC128897

0036-8075 (online),   

https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abn7248,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128897,   

10.1126/science.abn7248 (online),