Organic EprintsSustainable and Resilient Agroecosystems Need Complexity of Soil Food Webs and Multivariate Soil Health IndicatorsJenniferMichelauthorIñakiBalanzategui-GuijarroauthorDaCaoauthorPhilippeHinsingerauthorJacquesLe GouisauthorJordiMoya-LarañoauthorSaraSánchez-MorenoauthorSarahSymanczikauthorHervéVanderschurenauthorDominiqueVan Der StraetenauthorMatthiasWaibelauthorMarkusWeinmannauthorCécileThonarauthorPierreDelaplaceauthorWe need to adapt crop species and agricultural practices to produce high quantities of quality food for a growing world population, while also reducing the negative impact of agriculture on the environment to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement. It is increasingly recognised that healthy soils are at the heart of this endeavour, sustaining global geochemical cycles and the productivity of most terrestrial ecosystems. This ability of soils to support essential ecosystem services like nutrient cycling arises from diverse communities of soil organisms. Many ecosystem services are a function of how these soil organisms interact with each other, with the aboveground plant species and with the physio-chemical soil matrix. Here, we argue that multiple ecosystem processes and climate change resilience rely on diverse plant and soil communities with complex interactions among various actors carrying out complementary functions, rather than on individual indicator species on their own. We highlight areas of research which could be expanded to advance our understanding from single-species studies to the functional complexity of soil food webs and its integration into land management strategies with the aim to improve the resilience and sustainability of essential terrestrial ecosystems and the services they provide to the human population. Soil biology Biodiversity and ecosystem services2025Journal paper

Deposit Agreement

In depositing this eprint (a collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata), I grant Organic Eprints the right to make it permanently available on-line, with open access to all or in accordance with any access restrictions that I have specified. (Removal of eprints from the public archive is strongly discouraged, but will be granted upon request.)
I understand that Organic Eprints does not assume any responsibility if there is any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata.

For work being deposited by its own first author: I declare that this eprint is my own intellectual property and that I have the right to make it available in Organic Eprints in the manner chosen.

For work being deposited by someone other than its first author: I declare that I have gained the proper permissions from someone with the right to make this eprint available in Organic Eprints in the manner chosen - or that the material is in the public domain.

Clicking on the deposit button indicates your agreement to these terms. If you do not wish to deposit the eprint right now you can return to your user area, where you will find this eprint in your workspace. You can then later edit, clone and deposit it.