Research & Policy

Global soil biodiversity research

Published studies on global soil biodiversity

Bacteria (Copy) (Copy)

Algae (Copy) (Copy)

Plants (Copy) (Copy)

Fungi (Copy) (Copy)

Mycorrhizae (Copy) (Copy)

Protists (Copy) (Copy)

Rotifers (Copy) (Copy)

Nematodes (Copy) (Copy)

Earthworms (Copy) (Copy)

Isopods (Copy) (Copy)

Insects (Copy) (Copy)

Arachnids (Copy) (Copy)

Soil Community (Copy) (Copy)

If you have a study or call for collaboration on global soil organisms that you would like us to share, please let us know at info@globalsoilbiodiversity.org.

Reports & Policy Briefs

The GSBI has compiled a list of global studies on soil biodiversity that we believe can be useful when making science-based policy decisions. We’ve also included calls for collaboration on global soil biodiversity on this page.

2020 UN-FAO Report on Global Soil Biodiversity

GSBI and 300+ scientists contribute to “State of Knowledge on Soil Biodiversity: Status, Challenges, and Potentialities” called for by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

GSBI has contributed to, and provided expert review for the following:

EASAC: European Academies Science Advisory Council

2018: Opportunities for soil sustainability in Europe

IPBES: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

2018: IPBES Assessment Report on Land Degradation & Restoration

2017: UN Convention to Combat Desertification

2017: European Food Safety Authority

FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

2015: Food and Status of the World’s Soil Resources: Main Report

The following are other policy reports that the GSBI has not contributed to, but may be useful to the soil biodiversity community.

EFSA Panel of the Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR)

The National Science and Technology Council, USA

Framework for a Federal Strategic Plan for Soil Science

In 2016 the Obama Administration released a strategic plan for future U.S. soils.

The full report is available here.
The summary of the report with specific action steps is available here.

2010 European Commission

Soil biodiversity: functions, threats and tools for policy makers

Anne Turbé, Arianna De Toni, Patricia Benito, Patrick Lavelle, Perrine Lavelle, Nuria Ruiz, Wim H. Van der Putten, Eric Labouze, and Shailendra Mudgal. Soil biodiversity: functions, threats and tools for policy makers. Bio Intelligence Service, IRD, and NIOO, Report for European Commission (DG Environment), 2010.

Convention on Biological Diversity (Copy) (Copy)

GSBI Policy Partners

The GSBI is an official partner of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP)

The GSBI works with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to promote an assessment of global soil biodiversity.

Learn more about the global soil biodiversity report

In September 2018, the GSBI requested actions from the Intergovernmental Science‑Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) regarding the integration of soil biodiversity into ongoing assessments of biological diversity, and the promotion of a global assessment of soil biodiversity.

The European Commission Joint Research Center is a founding organization of the GSBI, and collaborated with the GSBI to produce the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas (May, 2016)