complex communities of organisms that play fundamental roles in soil formation and contribute, directly or indirectly, to many processes such as nutrient cycling, waste decomposition, soil structure formation and pollination
soil biota', ‘Threats of Soil Quality in Europe’, G. Toth, L. Montanarella, E. Rusco, JRC Scientific and Technical Reports, 2008, http://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ESDB_Archive/eusoils_docs/other/EUR23438.pdf [23/03/2016]