Resilient and dynamic soil biology

Agricultural intensification has delivered great gains in terms of food production but has come at great environmental cost. Consequently, there is growing societal demand for more sustainable farming systems, i.e., sustainable intensification. Within this, there is increasing recognition of the ecosystem services provided by soil organisms that contribute both to agricultural production and environmental sustainability. Conventional tillage-based farming systems experience frequent and significant soil disturbance, which negatively impacts many key soil organism groups, e.g., fungi and earthworms. Loss of these soil organisms results in loss of critical soil ecosystem services, including those related to soil nutrient cycling, crop nutrient uptake, and soil water management. Conversion of farming systems from conventional tillage to no-till can allow recovery of soil biology and restoration of soil ecosystem services. Thus, no-till farming systems can contribute positively towards sustainable intensification. However, important knowledge gaps and challenges remain. Greater knowledge of what soil organisms are present in soil and what services they provide is urgently needed. The ultimate goal is to understand how soil biology can be manipulated through management to provide desirable ecosystem services in space and time