GELIFES soil microbiologists' review paper selected to commemorate UN 2020 World Soil Day

A review paper published earlier this year in the journal Soil Biology and Biochemistry by the Microbial Community Ecology group of Joana Falcao Salles has been selected as one of five papers commemorating the 2020 United Nations World Soil Day, on 5 December. The theme for this year's World Soil Day is “keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity”, highlighting the critical role soil biology plays for the functioning and services provided by terrestrial ecosystems. SBB highlights five papers published in the journal in 2020 which are exemplary fits to the theme of the day and carry clear and important messages. The selected papers are being given promotional Open Access until 2030 (Read more).

Mawarda P.C., Le Roux X., van Elsas J.D., Falcao Salles J. (2020). Deliberate introduction of invisible invaders: A critical appraisal of the impact of microbial inoculants on soil microbial communities, doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107874

Inoculating soils with microbes that carry ostensibly beneficial properties, such as the ability to fix nitrogen, degrade pollutants or act as biocontrol agents against pests and diseases is a potentially effective management tool. However, the effects of such introduced microbes upon indigenous soil communities can be profound, as this review of over 100 published studies shows. Some 80% of the reports indicated that microbial communities did not show resilience, in that they did not return to the initial state they were in prior to inoculation. The functional consequences of such changes remain unclear.