Soil Formation, Soil Health and Soil Biodiversity

Increase in human population has led to industrialization and deterioration of the environment, including the soil. Also, there is also a constant rise in demand for food, mostly gotten from plants. To attain this, the soil needs to be healthy to support the growth of plants. A healthy soil is thus one that is rich in and contains the correct proportion of nutrients, diversity of living organisms and supports plant growth. Living organisms such as earthworms help in stabilizing soil structure, good drainage and ensuring nutrients availability. Soil microorganisms such as Azotobacter spp. and Bacillus spp. also play a huge role in breaking down and ensuring that nutrients such as nitrate, iron and phosphorus are available in forms that can be assimilated by plants. Others such as Pseudomonas spp. breakdown pollutants to useful forms, thereby making the soil conducive for living organisms. This chapter thus looks at the factors that promote soil formation, health and biodiversity while also proffering methods to improve soil health such as the introduction of soil-health promoting living organisms.