Restoring degraded soils unleashes a positive feedback loop that fights climate change, empowers community, and stimulates biodiversity. A 2022 UN report noted that “land is the operative link between biodiversity loss and climate change… [it] must be the primary focus of any meaningful intervention to tackle these intertwined crises. Restoring degraded land and soil provides the most fertile ground on which to take immediate and concerted action.”

Boomitra provides growers with the resources and on-the-ground support necessary to employ regenerative techniques, like cover cropping. These practices sequester carbon and re-enrich soils with organic matter, increasing biodiversity.

Soil: a hub of life

Soil is not simply a medley of sand, minerals, air, and water—it is a living ecosystem teeming with life. A single teaspoon of healthy soil contains approximately 50 billion microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, and tiny invertebrates. Notably, 25% of the world’s species are found in soil.

Each of these species plays a vital role in the ecosystem: mold (a type of fungus) decomposes plant litter and returns the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous in the plant into the soil in the form of humus. Blue-green algae pull nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil so plants can use it as fertilizer. Earthworms tunnel through soil, aerating it so that plants can grow better. Soil mites decompose plants, aerate the soil, and help regulate soil population dynamics. Without each of these species—and many more—soils wouldn’t have the necessary nutrients, water, or structure to support plant life.

Soil biodiversity is essential because healthy soils are the foundation of all terrestrial ecosystems. Enhanced below-ground biodiversity fosters increased biodiversity above-ground. Biodiverse ecosystems contribute to community health by supporting sustainable food systems, clean water, and resilience against diseases. Soil’s ability to filter water, promote nutrient-rich crops, and reduce pathogens helps ensure that communities can thrive, making soil biodiversity a critical component of both environmental and human well-being.

Nature’s carbon storage solution

The world’s soil stores more carbon than the atmosphere and all terrestrial vegetation combined. Agricultural soils have the technical potential to remove up to 5.3 GtCO2 per year, over 10% of global annual emissions.

This is only possible because of soil biodiversity. Microbes, like bacteria and fungi, break down plant and animal residue. As the microbes decompose this organic matter, they are stabilizing carbon in the soil, making sure it’s stored for the long run. Microbes also form “stable soil aggregates,” which are clumps of soil particles bound together by organic matter. These aggregates create a more structured soil matrix that improves water retention and reduces erosion—and locks carbon into the soil so that it can be a long-term carbon sink.

Without soil biodiversity, we wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink, nor would we have the added benefits of climate resilience and increased plant growth.

The soil health and community health intersection

Healthy soils are the foundation of resilient communities. Soil provides essential ecosystem services, like nutrition, water filtration, and flood mitigation. Healthy, biodiverse soils are more fertile, support increased yields, require less expensive inputs, and are more resilient to extreme weather events.

Investing in soil health not only benefits farmers’ livelihoods (experts estimate that every dollar invested in restoring degraded land returns $7-30 in benefits) but also enhances everyone’s food security. And, because climate change threatens our food systems, alters water patterns, and extreme temperatures, the power of soil to sequester carbon, manage waterflow, and regulate temperature mean that healthy soils are necessary for climate resilience.

By stewarding soil, we can make sure that communities across the world are adapting to climate change, while mitigating it.

Putting it to practice

The connections between soil, atmosphere, community, and biodiversity also mean that harming one harms the others. Right now, 40% of the world’s land is degraded. There is a lot of work for us to do—and Boomitra is ready to do it. Operating across 9 countries, we’re investing in a greener and more biodiverse future by unlocking the power of soil carbon.

Learn more about how we’re restoring biodiversity by exploring our projects.

Grace Cajski

Research & Communications Associate