Some new grand questions in soil biology and biochemistry

IF 10.3 1区农林科学 Q1 SOIL SCIENCE

Soil Biology & Biochemistry Pub Date : 2025-10-01 DOI:10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109996

Yakov Kuzyakov, Ning Ling, Giacomo Pietramellara, Paolo Nannipieri

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Abstract

In this Perspective, we look into the future and outline the crucial unresolved questions that can define broad directions in soil biology and biochemistry over the next decades. Considering that most of the grand questions of Selman A. Waksman have been answered over the last 100 years, we suggest here intriguing fundamental topics of basic research linking soil life with biochemical processes and ecosystem functions necessary for system understanding. We raise the following six question groups: Which level of understanding of microbial communities do we need? What are the emerging (microbial) properties and functions of soil? Are microbial memory and legacy important for soil functions? What defines soil health: pools, fluxes or potentials? Microbial growth and death: Can we identify the state of the soil microbiome and its importance for biochemical cycles? We subdivide each of these groups into narrower questions and briefly discuss the unsolved scientific problems based on previous and recent studies. The unresolved problems are visualized with exciting examples. We hope that this Perspective will stimulate new and broader discussion, as well as provide novel ideas for future research topics in soil biology and biochemistry.

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土壤生物学和生物化学中的一些新的重大问题

在这一展望中，我们展望了未来，并概述了关键的未解决的问题，这些问题可以确定未来几十年土壤生物学和生物化学的广阔方向。考虑到Selman A. Waksman的大多数重大问题在过去的100年里已经得到了回答，我们在这里提出了将土壤生命与生物化学过程和系统理解所必需的生态系统功能联系起来的基础研究的有趣的基本主题。我们提出以下六个问题组：我们需要对微生物群落的了解达到什么程度？土壤的新兴（微生物）特性和功能是什么？微生物记忆和遗产对土壤功能重要吗？什么定义土壤健康：池、通量还是潜力？微生物的生长和死亡：我们能否确定土壤微生物群的状态及其对生化循环的重要性？我们将这些组细分为更窄的问题，并简要讨论基于以前和最近的研究尚未解决的科学问题。用令人兴奋的例子将未解决的问题形象化。我们希望这一观点能够激发新的和更广泛的讨论，并为未来土壤生物学和生物化学的研究课题提供新的思路。

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来源期刊

Soil Biology & Biochemistry 农林科学-土壤科学

CiteScore

16.90

自引率

9.30%

发文量

312

审稿时长

49 days

期刊介绍： Soil Biology & Biochemistry publishes original research articles of international significance focusing on biological processes in soil and their applications to soil and environmental quality. Major topics include the ecology and biochemical processes of soil organisms, their effects on the environment, and interactions with plants. The journal also welcomes state-of-the-art reviews and discussions on contemporary research in soil biology and biochemistry.