Bartosz Bartkowski

Abstract Soil biodiversity is a key driver of ecosystem function, including nutrient cycling, organic-matter decomposition, plant productivity, climate regulation and pathogen control (with subsequent effects on animal, human and plant health). A foundational review in 2014 described the functional role of soil biodiversity in ecosystems, but our understanding of the relationship between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has deepened over the past decade.

Synthesis ABSTRACT Model-based analyses can effectively contribute to investigating leverage points for sustainability transformations in agriculture. They allow for a systematic evaluation of policies under changing environmental, economic, or institutional conditions, and can be used to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of different policy designs.

1 BACKGROUND Biodiversity loss and climate change, which are both driven by human activities like habitat destruction and pollution as well as climate change (IPBES, 2019; Pereira et al., 2024), are closely linked (Mahecha et al., 2022; Pörtner et al., 2021). Climate change worsens biodiversity loss by altering ecosystems, degrading habitats, and intensifying extreme weather events (Mahecha et al., 2022; Pörtner et al., 2021).