What are soil services?

Soils services or – as they are also called – functions are diverse and essential. Soils are closely connected to human well-being, even though many of us are not aware of it. We rely on soils for food, shelter, medicine, and much more – all of which ultimately originates from this vital resource.  

Have a look at this FAO overview of soil services to understand how soils influence many aspects of human life.  

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2015). Soils deliver ecosystem services that enable life on Earth – Infographics. https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/314d30e5-6b0c-45e7-9246-3e4786155119

To better grasp the wide range of soil services, we can group them into four main categories: provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services.

• The provisioning role includes enabling the growth of crops and forests, providing food, wood, and raw materials.

• Through its regulating functions, soil filters and stores water, recycles nutrients, and hosts organisms that help control diseases, decompose waste, and balance gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen – key processes for climate stability.

• Soils also play a supporting role, serving as the physical foundation for buildings, roads, and ecosystems, while giving habitat to countless organisms – from microbes to mammals – that keep the system healthy.

• Soil formation processes and microbial transformations of nutrients are also considered as supporting services.

• Finally, soil carries a deep cultural function, shaping traditions, languages, and identities.

History shows that soil and society have shaped one another – from affecting the rise and fall of civilisations and the movement of armies to influencing how cultures and countries formed. Soils further inspire art, religion, and storytelling, reflecting humanity’s long relationship with the ground beneath our feet.