The Soil–Climate–Food Nexus: Advancing Soil Fertility Management for Climate-Resilient Food Systems

Background

Soil is the cornerstone of global food security, yet its fertility is under increasing threat from unsustainable agricultural practices and the escalating impacts of climate change. Degraded soils not only undermine crop yields and nutritional quality but also exacerbate climate change by releasing stored carbon. In contrast, healthy soils foster resilient food production systems and support climate mitigation efforts. It is now widely recognized that building climate-resilient food systems relies on sustainable soil fertility management. Addressing this interconnected soil–climate–food nexus is imperative for the future of agriculture, requiring innovative approaches that can adapt to climate extremes while ensuring long-term productivity and ecological sustainability.

Scope

This special collection seeks transdisciplinary research and innovative solutions at the crossroads of soil fertility, climate resilience, and food security. We invite rigorous empirical studies, advanced modeling, and critical reviews spanning spatial scales—from soil microbial processes to landscape-level impacts—and temporal scales, from short-term resilience to long-term carbon sequestration. The scope includes, but is not limited to, regenerative agriculture, climate-smart practices, soil microbiome studies, sustainable intensification, resilience metrics, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, soil carbon dynamics, agroforestry, and ecosystem health. We strongly encourage studies involving digital technologies (e.g., sensors, AI, remote sensing), farmer-led innovations (indigenous knowledge, participatory research), and circular nutrient flows (composting, waste recycling, nutrient recovery). Papers should explicitly link practices to measurable outcomes in soil health, climate resilience (including drought and flood tolerance, yield stability), greenhouse gas dynamics, and sustainable food systems.

Goals

The objectives of this collection are to:

Showcase and advance scalable solutions and policy frameworks for climate-smart soil fertility management worldwide.

Integrate diverse forms of knowledge and highlight co-benefits for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

Transform soil fertility management from a traditional agricultural activity into a central strategy for achieving global climate and food security goals.

Support and accelerate progress towards the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production;

Provide a vital resource for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to implement transformative soil fertility practices.

Foster a paradigm shift in understanding and implementing sustainable soil management across diverse agroecological and socioeconomic contexts.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Regenerative culture, Climnate-smart practices, Soil microbiome, Sustainable intensification;, Resilience metrics, Biodiversity, Nutrient cycling, Ecosystem health;, Soil carbon, Agroforestry

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.