Underground microbes are the hidden engine of resilient farming
Bardgett RD, van der Heijden MGA
Soil Health
The compost you dig into a garden bed isn't just fertilizer, it's an inoculation of the same microbial workforce that lets regenerative farms skip synthetic chemicals and still bounce back from drought.
Beneath every healthy plant is a community of bacteria and fungi doing invisible work: breaking down nutrients into forms roots can absorb, defending against pathogens, and helping plants cope with heat and dry spells. This review pulls together what scientists know about that underground community and argues that regenerative farming, methods like cover cropping and reduced tilling, succeeds largely because it protects and feeds these microbes rather than wiping them out. Understanding the soil microbiome, the authors say, is key to building farms that can handle a hotter, less predictable climate.
Key Findings
Soil microbiomes provide multiple simultaneous functions: nutrient cycling, disease suppression, and stress tolerance support for plants
Regenerative agriculture practices are framed as working with soil microbial communities rather than disrupting them
The review positions microbiome management as a key tool for climate change adaptation in agriculture
chevron_right Technical Summary
Healthy soil is packed with microbes that feed plants, fight off disease, and help crops survive drought and heat, and this review explains how farmers can work with those microbes instead of against them as the climate changes.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Soil microbiomes and regenerative agriculture.
Regenerative agriculture is gaining attention as a way to make agriculture more sustainable and to better integrate natural processes. Here, we highlight how the soil microbiome critically contribu...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Street trees cut heat deaths by 39 percent in European cities
Trees in your local park or street aren't just pretty — they are literally keeping people alive during heatwaves, and planting even a modest number of the ri...
Climate adaptation in plants refers to the physiological and evolutionary mechanisms through which plants adjust to changing environmental conditions, including temperature shifts, altered precipitation patterns, and seasonal variations. Understanding these processes is essential for plant science
arrow_forward Explore topic