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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The concept and future prospects of soil health

Open access
Lehmann, Johannes, Bossio, Deborah A., Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid, Rillig, Matthias C.·2020·Nature Reviews Earth & Environment

Abstract

Soil health is the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans, and connects agricultural and soil science to policy, stakeholder needs and sustainable supply-chain management. Historically, soil assessments focused on crop production, but, today, soil health also includes the role of soil in water quality, climate change and human health. However, quantifying soil health is still dominated by chemical indicators, despite growing appreciation of the importance of soil biodiversity, owing to limited functional knowledge and lack of effective methods. In this Perspective, the definition and history of soil health are described and compared with other soil concepts. We outline ecosystem services provided by soils, the indicators used to measure soil functionality and their integration into informative soil-health indices. Scientists should embrace soil health as an overarching principle that contributes to sustainability goals, rather than only a property to measure. Soil health is essential to crop production but is also key to many ecosystem services. In this Perspective, the definition, impact and quantification of soil health are examined, and the needs in soil-health research are outlined.

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Metadata

Authors
Lehmann, J., Bossio, D. A., Kögel-Knabner, I., & Rillig, M. C.
Venue
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Published
2020-08-25
Volume
1
Issue
10
Pages
544-553
ISSN
2662-138X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3081223604
Cited by
1,791
References
13
FWCI
12.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The concept and future prospects of soil health. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s43017-020-0080-8
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Lehmann, J., Bossio, D. A., Kögel-Knabner, I., & Rillig, M. C. (2020). The concept and future prospects of soil health. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0080-8

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