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Soil structure is essential to soil health and fertility; soil structure decline has a direct effect on soil and surface food chain and biodiversity as a consequence. Continued crop cultivation eventually results in significant changes within the soil, such as its nutrient status, pH balance, organic matter content, and physical characteristics ...
Soil health testing is pursued as an assessment of this status [1] but tends to be confined largely to agronomic objectives. Soil health depends on soil biodiversity (with a robust soil biota), and it can be improved via soil management, especially by care to keep protective living covers on the soil and by natural (carbon-containing) soil ...
According to the biodiversity hypothesis, reduced contact of people with natural environment and biodiversity may adversely affect the human commensal microbiota and its immunomodulatory capacity. The hypothesis is based on the observation that two dominant socio-ecological trends – the loss of biodiversity and increasing incidence of ...
Soil is made up of a multitude of physical, chemical, and biological entities, with many interactions occurring among them. It is a heterogenous mixture of minerals and organic matter with variations in moisture, temperature and nutrients.
The soil is home to a large proportion of the world's biodiversity.The links between soil organisms and soil functions are complex. The interconnectedness and complexity of this soil 'food web' means any appraisal of soil function must necessarily take into account interactions with the living communities that exist within the soil.
Some of the health issues influenced by biodiversity include dietary health and nutrition security, infectious disease, medical science and medicinal resources, social and psychological health. [166] Biodiversity is also known to have an important role in reducing disaster risk and in post-disaster relief and recovery efforts. [167] [168]
As soil health declines, use of synthetic fertilizers on monocultural fields increases, often having negative implications on human health via chemical run-off. [ 8 ] [ 2 ] In addition to soil depletion, monocultures can cause significant reductions in biodiversity due to unavailability of resources, native species displacement, and loss of ...
Soil faces many threats, including compaction, contamination, organic material loss, biodiversity loss, slope stability issues, erosion, salinization, and acidification. Soil monitoring helps characterize these threats and other potential risks to the soil, surrounding environments, animal health, and human health.