Soil and the hosting microbial cenosis provide essential ecosystem services for the biosphere, benefitting humans. However, anthropic activity leads to disturbances in the soil ecosystem, causing organic matter impoverishment and biodiversity loss, exacerbated by the pressing global climate change. Hence, it is paramount to implement innovative eco-sustainable use and management practices to preserve soil health and to store soil organic carbon. Sustainable solutions to improve soil quality and preserve biodiversity are increasingly used in agroecosystems (green manure crops, crop rotation, and organic amendments).

Also, sustainable management of forests to obtain forest-based ecosystem services should be implemented considering the recovery of soil cenosis post-management disturbance. In urban environments, understanding the link between the diversity of soil-living organisms and function is essential for management policies now fostering the re-naturalization of the cities.

The objectives of this Research Topic are to:

(i) Assess the impacts of different land use and specific agricultural and forestry management on the soil microbial communities

(ii) Explore conservation practices and their potential to restore soil functions, ecosystem services, and biological processes aggravated by agricultural intensification and urbanization

(iii) Investigate eco-sustainable approaches to prevent soil carbon and other nutrient losses at a multidimensional scale to promote soil quality and health

(iv) Promote innovative biotechnologies to ameliorate soil pollution and land degradation associated with environmental issues

We would like to invite contributions to topics such as (but are not limited to):

• Soil organic carbon dynamics and soil microbiome
• Nutrient cycling, soil fertility, carbon storage
• Soil quality indicators and soil health
• Soil microbial community responses to anthropic stress
• Soil biology and biodiversity
• Soil restoration

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Frontiers in Soil Science

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