Soil is of utmost importance for healthy nature, adequate food production, drinking water supply and purification. The living components of soil (e.g. the microbial and other communities) play an essential role in so-called life support functions. These are functions that sustain life in ecosystems and on this planet.

The interplay between species in soil (the soil genetic pool) and the internal and external environmental factors determine the dynamic range of life support functions. The functions allow the soil to maintain its ecological integrity and to recycle nutrients (ecological insurance function), inactivate pollutants (self-purifying function), suppress plant pathogens (disease suppression function), and serve as a suitable substrate to support plant growth.

The importance of soil life support functions has been recognised by many. However, the biological and biochemical processes underlying them are still poorly understood. Traditional approaches are limited in their capacity and effectiveness to assess this. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that most soil-borne micro-organisms are so-called “unculturables”. Little or no knowledge exists on them because they can’t be grown (or ‘cultured’) in the lab.

Current developments in the Netherlands lead to an increased pressure on the soil ecosystem. An example is the ever-increasing demand from the Dutch population density. Furthermore, pollution problems associated with intensive soil use are becoming more diffuse and complex. These developments threaten the Dutch soil quality. Clearly there’s a need for innovative methods to unravel soil ecosystems, to study basic functions of soil ecosystems, and to assess the occurrence and impact of pollutants.

Genomics enables us to study ecological complexity to the fullest extent. We can measure many variables at the same time, apply bioinformatics and much better predict ecosystem states. With genomics we expect to be able to adequately discriminate between normal (non-stressed) and stressed ecosystems. Furthermore, it is expected that genomics technologies are much more sensitive and responsive compared to traditional methods. We can look further than the traditional biological endpoints (growth and reproduction): genomics enables a better selection of micro-organisms and functionalities for bioremediation, and for disease suppression.