Biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity as key drivers of ecosystem services provided by soils
P. Smith,
M. F. Cotrufo,
C. Rumpel,
K. Paustian,
P. J. Kuikman,
J. A. Elliott,
R. McDowell,
R. I. Griffiths,
S. Asakawa,
M. Bustamante,
J. I. House,
J. Sobocká,
R. Harper,
G. Pan,
P. C. West,
J. S. Gerber,
J. M. Clark,
T. Adhya,
R. J. Scholes,
M. C. Scholes
Affiliations
P. Smith
Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Scottish Food Security Alliance-Crops and ClimateXChange, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
M. F. Cotrufo
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences & Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1499, USA
C. Rumpel
CNRS, IEES (UMR UPMC, CNRS, UPEC, INRA, IRD) and Ecosys (UMR INRA, AgroParisTech), Campus AgroParisTech, Bâtiment EGER, 78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
K. Paustian
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences & Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1499, USA
P. J. Kuikman
Alterra Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
J. A. Elliott
Environment Canada, National Hydrology Research Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 3H5, Canada
R. McDowell
AgResearch, Invermay Agricultural Centre, Private Bag 50034, Mosgiel, New Zealand
R. I. Griffiths
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
S. Asakawa
Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
M. Bustamante
Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de Brasília, I.B. C.P. 04457. Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro – UnB. D.F. CEP: 70919-970 Brasília, Brazil
J. I. House
Cabot Institute, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
J. Sobocká
National Agriculture and Food Centre Lužianky, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute Bratislava, Gagarinova 10, 827 13 Bratislava, Slovakia
R. Harper
School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch WA, 6150, Australia
G. Pan
Institute of Resources, Environment and Ecosystem of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing 210095, China
P. C. West
Global Landscapes Initiative, Institute on the Environment (IonE), University of Minnesota, 325 Learning & Environmental Sciences, 1954 Buford Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
J. S. Gerber
Global Landscapes Initiative, Institute on the Environment (IonE), University of Minnesota, 325 Learning & Environmental Sciences, 1954 Buford Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
J. M. Clark
Soil Research Centre, Department of Geography and Environmental Science, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6DW, UK
T. Adhya
School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar – 751024, Odisha, India
R. J. Scholes
Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute and School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Studies, University of Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa
M. C. Scholes
Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute and School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Studies, University of Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa
Soils play a pivotal role in major global biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nutrient, and water), while hosting the largest diversity of organisms on land. Because of this, soils deliver fundamental ecosystem services, and management to change a soil process in support of one ecosystem service can either provide co-benefits to other services or result in trade-offs. In this critical review, we report the state-of-the-art understanding concerning the biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity in soil, and relate these to the provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services which they underpin. We then outline key knowledge gaps and research challenges, before providing recommendations for management activities to support the continued delivery of ecosystem services from soils. We conclude that, although soils are complex, there are still knowledge gaps, and fundamental research is still needed to better understand the relationships between different facets of soils and the array of ecosystem services they underpin, enough is known to implement best practices now. There is a tendency among soil scientists to dwell on the complexity and knowledge gaps rather than to focus on what we do know and how this knowledge can be put to use to improve the delivery of ecosystem services. A significant challenge is to find effective ways to share knowledge with soil managers and policy makers so that best management can be implemented. A key element of this knowledge exchange must be to raise awareness of the ecosystems services underpinned by soils and thus the natural capital they provide. We know enough to start moving in the right direction while we conduct research to fill in our knowledge gaps. The lasting legacy of the International Year of Soils in 2015 should be for soil scientists to work together with policy makers and land managers to put soils at the centre of environmental policy making and land management decisions.
