Full title: One Health - Cycling of diverse microbial communities as a connecting force for soil, plant, animal, human and ecosystem health
Authors: Samiran banerjee & Marcel G. A.. van Heijden
Abstract:
The One Health concept proposes that there is a connection between human, animal and environmental health. Plants and their health are not explicitly included. In this review, we broaden the One Health concept to include soil, plant, animal and ecosystem health. We argue that the health conditions of all organisms in an ecosystem are interconnected through the cycling of subsets of microbial communities from the environment (in particular the soil) to plants, animals and humans, and back into the environment. After an introduction on health concepts, we present examples of community stability and resilience, diversity and interconnectedness as affected by pollut- ants, and integrity of nutrient cycles and energy flows. Next, we explain our concept of microbial cycling in rela- tion to ecosystem health, and end with examples of plant and animal disease outbreaks in relation to microbial community composition and diversity. We conclude that we need a better understanding of the role of intercon- nected microbiomes in promoting plant and animal health and possible ways to stimulate a healthy, diverse microbiome throughout human-dominated ecosystems. We suggest that it is essential to maintain ecosystem and soil health through diversification of plant communities and oligotrophication of managed ecosystems.
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