Soil organic matter (SOM) provides vital services to humanity. Its preservation and further
accrual are key to sustain food production and avoid an irreversible climate crisis. Here we …

Soil health is the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that
sustains plants, animals and humans, and connects agricultural and soil science to policy …

Purpose Soil is a thin coating of matter that covers the earth's surface, formed through the
process of rock weathering. It is a natural filter for impurities in groundwater and is very …

Background Soil organic matter (SOM) supports multiple soil ecosystem functions,
underpinned by processes such as C sequestration, N mineralization, aggregation …

Soil functions, including climate regulation and the cycling of water and nutrients, are of
central importance for a number of environmental issues of great societal concern. To …

Soil organisms are recognized as ecosystem engineers and key for aggregation in soil due
to bioturbation, organic matter (OM) decomposition, and excretion of biogenic OM. The …

The interface between decaying plant residues and soil minerals represents an essential
soil microenvironment at which soil organic matter forms. The high amount of microbial …

Efforts to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) are pursued as a viable climate change
mitigation strategy. Boosting SOC stocks requires increasing plant carbon (C) inputs and …

Soil degradation is a worsening global phenomenon driven by socio‐economic pressures,
poor land management practices and climate change. A deterioration of soil structure at …

Agricultural management of soils has led to severe losses of soil organic matter (SOM),
accompanied by an increased release of CO 2 into the atmosphere and a reduction of soil …