Sustainable agroecosystems need integrative biodiversity approaches with more than friendly fungi in the food web

We need to adapt crop species and agricultural practices to produce high quantities of quality food for a growing world population, while also reducing the negative impact of agriculture on the environment to meet the targets of the Paris agreement. It is increasingly recognised that healthy soils form the heart of this endeavour, sustaining global geochemical cycles and the productivity of most terrestrial ecosystems. This ability of soils to support essential ecosystem services like nutrient cycling arises from diverse communities of soil organisms. Soil services are a function of how these organisms interact with each other, with the aboveground plant species and with the physio-chemical soil matrix. Here, we argue that multiple ecosystem processes, as well as system adaptability and resilience in challenging environmental conditions, rely on diverse plant and soil communities with complex interactions between various actors carrying out complementary functions, rather than on individual flagship organisms on their own. We highlight areas of research which could be deepened to advance our understanding from single-species studies to the functional complexity of soil food webs and its integration into land management strategies with the aim to improve the resilience of essential terrestrial ecosystems and the services they provide to the human population.