Soil Functions and Ecosystem Services Management

Soils underpin a wide array of functions that sustain terrestrial ecosystems and human well-being. These functions encompass physical support for plant growth, storage and regulation of water and nutrients, carbon sequestration and habitat provision for an immense diversity of organisms. Together, they give rise to ecosystem services such as crop and timber production, water purification, climate regulation and cultural benefits. Effective management of soil functions seeks to optimise these services while avoiding degradation through erosion, compaction, contamination or loss of organic matter. Contemporary approaches integrate ecological understanding, biogeochemical modelling and stakeholder engagement to balance trade-offs among services. For example, diversified crop rotations, permanent soil cover and organic amendments can enhance soil structure and microbial activity, improving both productivity and carbon storage. Decision-support frameworks, including digital twin models that link field observations with process-based simulations, are emerging as powerful tools to guide sustainable practice. Globally, improved soil management contributes directly to food security, biodiversity conservation and climate-change mitigation, making it a cornerstone of policies aimed at meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Research from all publishers

Advances in digital modelling have given rise to the soil-plant digital twin, which combines Earth observation data, process-based models and machine-learning techniques to monitor soil health in near real time. This integrative framework improves understanding of how soil hydrology, plant hydraulics and microbial dynamics interact over space and time, offering a pathway to predict responses to management and climate stressors.

A comprehensive meta-analysis of microbial and physico-chemical indicators evaluated their sensitivity to six agricultural practices, including cover cropping, organic amendments and reduced tillage. Results showed that microbial biomass carbon, phospholipid fatty acids and key enzyme activities responded more rapidly and strongly to management changes than soil organic carbon or total nitrogen, highlighting the value of microbiological metrics as early indicators of soil function.

An assessment of ecosystem services potential in degraded pasture systems demonstrated how pasture restoration in Brazil can convert marginal lands into multifunctional systems. Using a regional metric for conservation use, researchers quantified gains in soil organic carbon, erosion control and habitat provisioning, revealing that policy frameworks need harmonised, scientifically validated metrics to support coherent soil governance at regional and national scales.

Soil Functions and Ecosystem Services Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in soil functions and ecosystem services management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Ecosystem services: Benefits that humans derive from soil functions, including provision of food, water regulation, climate mitigation and recreational opportunities.

Soil functions: Fundamental processes carried out by soils, such as nutrient cycling, water filtration, habitat provision and carbon storage, which underpin ecosystem services.

Soil health: The capacity of soil to function as a living ecosystem, sustaining plants, animals and humans by maintaining its physical, chemical and biological properties.

Digital twin: A virtual representation of the soil-plant system that integrates observational data and mechanistic models to simulate processes and predict responses to environmental or management changes.

Soil microbiome: The community of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, archaea and protozoa—that drive key biogeochemical processes and influence soil structure, fertility and resilience.

References

1. Monitoring and Modeling the Soil‐Plant System Toward Understanding Soil Health. Reviews of Geophysics (2025).
2. Ecosystem services potential and soil conservation policies with emphasis on degraded pastures in Brazil. Geography and Sustainability (2024).
3. Which soil microbial indicators should be included in routine laboratory tests to support the transition to sustainable management of arable farming systems? A meta-analysis. Ecological Indicators (2024).