Soil, Microbes, and Human Health: One connected system

Sources and additional resources

• Van Bruggen, A.H.C., Goss, E.M., Havelaar, A., van Diepeningen, A.D., Finckh, M.R. and Morris, J.G. (2019). One Health – Cycling of diverse microbial communities as a connecting force for soil, plant, animal, human and ecosystem health. Science of The Total Environment, 664, 927-937.
• Banerjee, S. and van der Heijden, M.G.A. (2023). Soil microbiomes and one health. Nature Reviews Microbiology 21, 6–20.
• Keiblinger, K., Grassberger, M., & Blum, W. E. H. (2022). The link between the soil and the human microbiome-Holobiont theory as key concept for the human future. In L. B. Reyes-Sánchez, R. Horn, & E. A. C. Constantini (Eds.), Sustainable soil management as a key to preserve soil biodiversity and stop its degradation (pp. 1–19). International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS).
• Wall, D., Nielsen, U. and Six, J. (2015). Soil biodiversity and human health. Nature 528, 69–76.
• Hirt, H. (2020). Healthy soils for healthy plants for healthy humans. EMBO Reports 21, EMBR202051069. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202051069
• Ma, H., Cornadó, D. and Raaijmakers, J.M. (2025). The soil-plant-human gut microbiome axis into perspective. Nature Communications 16, 7748.
• Kihara, J., Bolo, P., Kinyua, M., Rurinda, J. and Piikki, K. (2020). Micronutrient deficiencies in African soils and the human nutritional nexus: opportunities with staple crops. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 42, 3015–3033.
• Lal, R. (2024). Opportunities and Challenges of the “One Health” Approach. Medical Research Archives, [online] 12(12).