Invisible to the naked eye but essential to life on Earth, soil fauna plays a fundamental role in the fertility of agricultural land, the carbon cycle and ecosystem resilience. In Montpellier, researchers are exploring this underground world to better understand, protect and restore degraded soils.
A living world beneath our feet
Soil is not simply an inert support for crops. It’s a complex ecosystem, rich in biodiversity that’s often overlooked. A single gram of soil can contain several billion micro-organisms and hundreds of different species. These include bacteria, fungi, nematodes, springtails, mites, earthworms and burrowing insects. This underground fauna transforms organic matter, aerates the soil, regulates pathogens and helps store carbon. Without it, no soil could remain fertile over the long term.
Studying the invisible: a scientific challenge
In Montpellier, interdisciplinary teams of biologists, ecologists, agronomists and soil specialists are working together to better understand these underground communities. Thanks to cutting-edge tools – genetic analysis (metabarcoding), physical extraction of organisms, microscopic observation, digital modelling – researchers are drawing an increasingly accurate picture of soil biodiversity and its functions.
The studies carried out by the One Science Montpellier Foundation focus in particular on how agricultural practices (ploughing, inputs, cover crops, agroforestry, etc.) influence the structure and functioning of these communities. Certain key species, such as earthworms, have become veritable biological indicators of soil health.
Biodiversity threatened by soil degradation
Erosion, pollution, artificialization, deforestation: these phenomena profoundly alter the underground habitat. Impoverishment of the soil’s fauna leads to reduced fertility, less capacity for water regulation, and fragility in the face of disease or climate change.
Understanding how soil biodiversity reacts to environmental pressures enables us to anticipate impacts on agroecosystems and identify levers for restoring lost ecological functions. In Montpellier, research aims to link biological diversity to soil quality over the long term.
A key to soil restoration
Soil restoration is inconceivable without taking into account the living beings that make up the soil. By field-testing biodiversity-friendly farming practices – such as the use of composts, long rotations and agroforestry – researchers have shown that it is possible to trigger positive dynamics: increased biomass, improved soil structure, better water and carbon retention.
Through this work, the One Science Montpellier Foundation is contributing to a better understanding of the ecological processes at work in the soil. This expertise is invaluable at a time when soil health is recognized as a major challenge for food security and the ecological transition.