human experience and interaction with nature. Regenerative farming systems based
on soil-health building principles can greatly reduce major impacts of agriculture’s
environmental footprint. And dietary practices that promote nutrient-dense foods
and cultivate beneficial gut microbiomes can help address the distinctly modern
epidemic of chronic diseases that increasingly afflicts humanity. While it remains to
be seen as to how our new view of the microbial world will reshape agriculture and
medicine, the coming decades will see growing adoption of practices that complement and in some cases supplant conventional practices of today.
David R. Montgomery
References
Abrahams PW (2002) Soils: their implications to human health. Sci Total Environ 291:1–32
Anderson C, Beare M, Buckley HL, Lear G (2017) Bacterial and fungal communities respond
differently to varying tillage depth in agricultural soils. PeerJ 5:e3930
Antunes PM et al (2012) Linking soil biodiversity and human health: do arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi contribute to food nutrition? In: Wall DH et al (eds) Soil ecology and ecosystem services.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 153–172
Bais HP et al (2006) The role of root exudates in rhizosphere interactions with plants and other
organisms. Annu Rev Plant Biol 57:233–266
Balfour EB (1943) The living soil: evidence of the importance to human health of soil vitality, with
special reference to National Planning. Faber and Faber, London
Bolan NS (1991) A critical review on the role of mycorrhizal fungi in the uptake of phosphorus by
plants. Plant Soil 134:189–207
Bowles TM, Jackson LE, Loeher M, Cavagnaro TR (2016) Ecological intensification and
arbuscular mycorrhizas: a meta-analysis of tillage and cover crops effects. J Appl Ecol
54:1785–1793
Corkidi L, Rowland DL, Johnson NC, Allen EB (2002) Nitrogen fertilization alters the functioning
of arbuscular mycorrhizas at two semiarid grasslands. Plant Soil 240:299–310
D’Incalci M, Steward WP, Gescher AJ (2005) Use of cancer chemopreventive phytochemicals as
antineoplastic agents. Lancet Oncol 6:899–904
Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen EB (2000) Shifts in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities along an
anthropogenic nitrogen gradient. Ecol Appl 10:484–496
Haddaway NR et al (2017) How does tillage intensity affect soil organic carbon? A systematic
review. Environ Evid 6:30
202
D. R. Montgomery
on soil-health building principles can greatly reduce major impacts of agriculture’s
environmental footprint. And dietary practices that promote nutrient-dense foods
and cultivate beneficial gut microbiomes can help address the distinctly modern
epidemic of chronic diseases that increasingly afflicts humanity. While it remains to
be seen as to how our new view of the microbial world will reshape agriculture and
medicine, the coming decades will see growing adoption of practices that complement and in some cases supplant conventional practices of today.
David R. Montgomery
References
Abrahams PW (2002) Soils: their implications to human health. Sci Total Environ 291:1–32
Anderson C, Beare M, Buckley HL, Lear G (2017) Bacterial and fungal communities respond
differently to varying tillage depth in agricultural soils. PeerJ 5:e3930
Antunes PM et al (2012) Linking soil biodiversity and human health: do arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi contribute to food nutrition? In: Wall DH et al (eds) Soil ecology and ecosystem services.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 153–172
Bais HP et al (2006) The role of root exudates in rhizosphere interactions with plants and other
organisms. Annu Rev Plant Biol 57:233–266
Balfour EB (1943) The living soil: evidence of the importance to human health of soil vitality, with
special reference to National Planning. Faber and Faber, London
Bolan NS (1991) A critical review on the role of mycorrhizal fungi in the uptake of phosphorus by
plants. Plant Soil 134:189–207
Bowles TM, Jackson LE, Loeher M, Cavagnaro TR (2016) Ecological intensification and
arbuscular mycorrhizas: a meta-analysis of tillage and cover crops effects. J Appl Ecol
54:1785–1793
Corkidi L, Rowland DL, Johnson NC, Allen EB (2002) Nitrogen fertilization alters the functioning
of arbuscular mycorrhizas at two semiarid grasslands. Plant Soil 240:299–310
D’Incalci M, Steward WP, Gescher AJ (2005) Use of cancer chemopreventive phytochemicals as
antineoplastic agents. Lancet Oncol 6:899–904
Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen EB (2000) Shifts in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities along an
anthropogenic nitrogen gradient. Ecol Appl 10:484–496
Haddaway NR et al (2017) How does tillage intensity affect soil organic carbon? A systematic
review. Environ Evid 6:30
202
D. R. Montgomery