Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Our well-being and the livelihoods of human societies are highly dependent on biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides. It is essential that we understand these links and the consequences of biodiversity loss for the various global challenges we currently face, including food insecurity and malnutrition, climate change, poverty and diseases. The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development sets out a transformative approach to achieve socioeconomic development while conserving the environment. There is increasing attention on the importance of biodiversity for food security and nutrition, especially above-ground biodiversity such as plants and animals. However, less attention is being paid to the biodiversity beneath our feet, soil biodiversity. Yet, the rich diversity of soil organisms drives many processes that produce food, regenerate soil or purify water. The book will make a valuable contribution to raising awareness of the importance of soil biodiversity and highlighting its role in finding solutions to today’s global threats; it is a crosscutting topic at the heart of the alignment of several international policy frameworks. It presents the best available knowledge on soil biota and their ecosystem functions and services. The book represents a major contribution to the literature and will interest those in biodiversity conservation, soil science and ecology and biodiversity conservation. his book reviews soil biodiversity in one of the key biodiversity hotspots of the world.