Articles | Volume 1, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-665-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-665-2015
Review article
 | 
19 Nov 2015
Review article |  | 19 Nov 2015

Biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity as key drivers of ecosystem services provided by soils

P. Smith, M. F. Cotrufo, C. Rumpel, K. Paustian, P. J. Kuikman, J. A. Elliott, R. McDowell, R. I. Griffiths, S. Asakawa, M. Bustamante, J. I. House, J. Sobocká, R. Harper, G. Pan, P. C. West, J. S. Gerber, J. M. Clark, T. Adhya, R. J. Scholes, and M. C. Scholes

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Short summary
Soils play a pivotal role in major global biogeochemical cycles (carbon, nutrient, and water), while hosting the largest diversity of organisms on land. Soils deliver fundamental ecosystem services, and management to change a soil process in support of one ecosystem service can affect other services. We provide a critical review of these aspects, and conclude that, although there are knowledge gaps, enough is known improve soils globally, and we suggest actions to start this process.
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