Globally, recognition of biodiversity’s importance has grown tremendously due to advancements in biodiversity science, as well as the efforts of groups such as United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). However, until recently, attention to biodiversity has neglected the role of belowground terrestrial systems, despite mounting evidence that soil biodiversity and function are inextricably linked to aboveground processes and functions – including aboveground biodiversity itself.

However, work by the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative – a scientific agenda collaborating with other organizations and policy agendas – over the past years has helped to remedy this oversight. A global report of soil biodiversity, and a global symposium on soil biodiversity were called for at the 14^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 14) held in November 2018. Additionally, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Networks (GEO BON) approved a thematic Soil Biodiversity Observation Network (Soil BON) for the global monitoring of soil biodiversity in September 2018. Now that soil biodiversity has gained traction on the global environmental policy scene, identifying the associated challenges, opportunities and priorities that come with this increased recognition need to be discussed and prioritized.

This special session, co-organized by the Soil Ecology Section of ESA, will bring together a diverse panel of soil ecologists and policy focused individuals in order to have a discussion regarding what these developments mean from both a scientific, policy, and economic perspective.