Soil, Microbes, and Human Health: One connected system

One Health: health as a shared system

The One Health concept is based on the idea that the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems cannot be understood in isolation. All living organisms depend on shared environmental systems that provide food, water and habitat. Soil is a central component of these systems because it supports plant growth, regulates nutrient and water cycles, and hosts an enormous diversity of organisms.

Recent research suggests that these connections are also biological. The microbial communities associated with soils, plants, animals, and humans are linked through shared environments and continuous exposure to microorganisms present in food, water, air, and natural ecosystems. As a result, the health of organisms is influenced not only by their own biology, but also by the communities of life with which they interact. From this perspective, soil is more than a resource or habitat: it is part of a living network that helps connect ecosystem functioning with the health and wellbeing of humans and other species.

For more information on the One Health concept and related aspects, you may read articles by Bruggen et al. (2019) or Banerjee & van der Heijden (2023).

But how exactly can processes occurring in soils influence what happens inside the human body?