The case for a global soil biodiversity assessment: Gaps, priorities, and significance

Several important global assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services are being released in 2018, yet these assessments almost exclusively focus on above-ground and aquatic organisms. Soil supports >25% of total biodiversity and soil organisms are central to multiple essential ecosystem services and functions. Soil biodiversity can provide a unique focus to achieve integrated sustainability goals. The time has come for a global soil biodiversity assessment that provides policy makers with concrete information to make soil use sustainable.