Soil, Microbes, and Human Health: One connected system

Shared environments: soils and human health

The relationship between soils and health is not always beneficial. Pollutants can accumulate in soils through industrial activities, mining, waste disposal, or intensive agriculture. Heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants may enter food chains, water systems, or dust particles, creating potential risks for humans and wildlife. Soil degradation can therefore have consequences that extend far beyond the soil itself (Münzel et al., 2023).

Soils also influence human nutrition. Plants obtain many essential nutrients from soils, including minerals that are ultimately required by humans and animals. Where soils are deficient in certain nutrients, crops may contain lower concentrations of these elements, which can contribute to nutritional deficiencies if alternative sources are not available. For example, an estimated 2–3 billion people worldwide are affected by zinc deficiency, with this micronutrient deficiency being particularly widespread in sub-Saharan Africa (Kihara et al. 2020).

Together, these examples illustrate that soils influence human health in multiple ways. Some involve microorganisms and biological interactions, others involve food quality, pollution, or environmental regulation. While these pathways differ, they all reflect the same underlying principle: human health is closely connected to the health of the ecosystems on which we depend.