Articles • 2022, December 7
A sustainable agricultural system—such as agroecology, agroforestry, or organic farming—depends on promoting and preserving soil biodiversity. This biodiversity is achieved when we mimic, as closely as possible, natural forest processes, where living organisms coexist in balance.
What Is Soil Biodiversity?
Soil biodiversity refers to the variety and variability of life forms and ecological interactions within the soil. Most of this life consists of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and archaea. The soil is also home to protozoa, nematodes, insects, and mites. Together, these organisms form complex trophic networks known as the soil food web.
A single tablespoon of healthy topsoil can contain up to 6 billion microorganisms.
Maintaining soil biodiversity is essential for both agriculture and the environment. Soil is one of the most biologically diverse materials on Earth and plays a key role in global cycles, including the carbon and nitrogen cycles, while providing habitat for countless organisms.
Why Is Soil Biodiversity So Important?
Soil organisms are fundamental to ecosystem health because they:
With the increasing use of land for agriculture, soil biodiversity is often compromised. As a result, farmers, policymakers, and scientists are working to improve land management practices and conserve the soil food web.
Healthy and biodiverse soils contribute directly to agricultural sustainability by improving:
Soils rich in biodiversity are more fertile, resilient to climate variability, and capable of producing crops with higher yields and superior nutritional value.
Microorganisms, Nutrients, and Crop Resilience
Soil microorganisms play a direct role in the carbon and nitrogen cycles, transforming nutrients into forms that plants can absorb. By increasing soil carbon content, they improve fertility, structure, water retention, and erosion control. They also help make essential nutrients such as phosphorus and zinc available to plants.
In addition, soil biodiversity increases crop resilience. Through natural biological control, diverse soil ecosystems reduce pests, harmful insects, mites, and weeds, lowering the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Soil Microorganisms and Human Health
Although microorganisms are often seen as harmful, research shows that many are essential to human health. The human body itself is a complex ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that influence immunity, metabolism, and even mental health.
Healthy soils enhance the nutritional quality of food by enabling plants to produce beneficial phytonutrients such as antioxidants. Diets rich in these compounds support immune function, hormonal balance, and overall well-being—linking soil biodiversity directly to healthier people.
Climate Regulation and Carbon Sequestration
Soil organisms play a crucial role in climate regulation by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering carbon. Agriculture accounts for 10–12% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to synthetic fertilizers, poor soil management, methane from livestock, and manure storage.
By improving nitrogen and carbon availability, soil organisms reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and help minimize nutrient losses and emissions. Healthy soils also store carbon for hundreds of years, making them a powerful tool in climate change mitigation—often storing more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined.
Soil Regeneration at Fazenda BELLA
Fazenda BELLA is located in the Caatinga biome, a region characterized by sandy soils with low organic matter. From the beginning, we have formed a strong partnership with nature. We continuously improve soil quality through regenerative practices such as on-farm composting, green manures (including gliricidia and Mexican sunflower), native soil amendments, animal manures, bone meal, castor and neem cakes, eggshells, and ash.
These natural inputs feed soil microorganisms, which transform them into nutrients such as nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and other micronutrients essential for plant development. We also use grass mulch as ground cover to protect roots, lower soil temperature, and promote the proliferation of beneficial soil life.
