image: Predicted benefits of plant-based and animal-based carbon inputs for soil biota abundance and site-specific recommendations for maximizing multifunctionality in global croplands.
Credit: ©Science China Press
Extensive research over the past two decades has established aboveground and belowground biodiversity as key drivers of ecosystem functioning. However, how belowground biodiversity shapes multifunctionality in managed agroecosystems remains poorly understood.
To address this, a team led by Professor Manqiang Liu (Lanzhou University) and Professor Ting Liu (Nanjing Agricultural University) conducted a global meta-analysis of 8509 field observations to quantify how plant-based (legume cover crops) and animal-based (vermicompost) carbon inputs affect agroecosystem multifunctionality. Their findings showed that both carbon inputs significantly improved agroecosystem multifunctionality, with legume cover crops increasing it by 17% and vermicompost by 31%. These improvements were concentrated in supporting and provisioning services. Soil biota abundance was strongly linked to multifunctionality and showed more frequent win–win relationships with other functions than species richness.
Local soil properties and climate conditions were the main predictors of abundance, and the effectiveness of carbon inputs depended on interactions among soil, climate, and substrate characteristics. Global gridded predictions indicate that legume cover crops and vermicompost could increase soil biota abundance by 48% and 42%, respectively, with regional variation suggesting that site-specific carbon input management is necessary to optimize multifunctionality across croplands.
This study provides the first global-scale quantitative evidence that soil biota abundance, a previously underappreciated dimension of biodiversity, is a primary driver of agroecosystem multifunctionality under carbon farming. While species richness remains important, its effects may be more context-dependent, indirect, or expressed over longer timescales. Abundance and richness are complementary dimensions of soil biodiversity, extending biodiversity–ecosystem functioning theory from natural to managed agroecosystems. By identifying soil and climate as key determinants, the study provides a data-driven foundation for optimizing organic carbon inputs at the site-specific level. Tailored carbon farming management can strengthen multiple ecological functions, support resilient agroecosystems, stabilize crop production, and provide an ecological basis for agricultural management to meet broader One Health goals.