Sustainable soils

摘要

What is the role of soil biota in sustainable soil function? Dr Steve Rogers from Australia's CSIRO Land and Water and Dr Matt Colloff from CSIRO Entomology are developing molecular diagnostic tools to determine soil biological activity so that the impacts of land management on ecosystem function can be assessed. Sustainable use of soils is being held back worldwide by the lack of a simple test that can tell environmental managers whether the land in their care is improving or getting worse. According to these researchers, the answer lies in the soil - or at least in the billions of micro-organisms and natural chemical processes that control how the soil functions, and whether it becomes richer or poorer.