Prospects of Microbes in Organic Farming under the Scenario of Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change is one of the minacious threats that is affecting agricultural production and food security the most. Agriculture is significantly involved in contributing to global warming with the use of chemical fertilizers. Soil microorganisms play an important role in several ecological processes in soil, such as the cycling of nutrients, nitrogen fixation, nitrification/denitrification, decomposition of organic matter, and mineralization/immobilization. These processes, carried out by microorganisms, are one of the most important components of organic farming. Climatic shifts are causing floods, droughts, and unseasonal rainfall and are showing potentially devastating effects on agricultural yields. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop strategies to make our farming systems more resilient to the consequences of climate change. This chapter presents the synergistic advantages of organic farming and the role of soil microbes, which could be effective climate change adaptation strategies for the agriculture sector, and will give information on the importance of soil microorganisms in organic farming.