Evaluating the crucial relationships between soil health and climate change

Abstract

This review examines the significant influence of soil health on global warming and climate stability. Soil affects the Earth’s carbon cycle by acting as both a source and a sink of greenhouse gases. Climate is an important factor in soil formation, but soils also affect the climate; soils are therefore affected by current climate change, particularly because they may release excessive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) as a result of land-use change, poor management, or inappropriate human practices. The pressure that climate change places on soil ecosystems has a significant impact on agriculture, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, and understanding these relationships is essential for developing effective climate mitigation and adaptation policies. The most effective soil management practices for mitigating climate change focus on increasing soil organic matter content and water retention. Soil is an enormous store of carbon and nitrogen and a potential regulator of CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄, the three main greenhouse gases. Because biota carry organic matter into the soil, mature soils rich in life are frequently CO₂ sinks, but heterotrophic soil organisms are also net consumers of organic matter and release CO₂ through respiration. Climate change is altering the interactions between plants, soil organisms, and abiotic soil conditions, affecting plant performance, diversity, and community structure, while tillage and other disturbances of natural soils cause losses of soil organic matter to the atmosphere, and salinization is expected to expand with climate change. The review concludes that soil carbon sequestration can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.