Role of soil microbes in biogeochemical cycle for enhancing soil fertility

Conservation of global food security requires the agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner on land. The microorganisms are key players to many ecosystem processes, including the enhancement of soil fertility. The soil microbes mediate the biogeochemical cycling for soil mineral nutrients availability such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, which are the major growth promoting nutrients to the plants. The microbes use organic carbon as their energy source to drive the recycling process. They also decompose organic matters to maintain soil fertility for sustainable plant growth and productivity. Biogeochemical cycling of soil nutrients mediated by the soil microbes is essential in this background and is reviewed here in this chapter.