Microbial fertilizers: Their potential impact on environment sustainability and ecosystem services

Abstract

Microbial fertilizers have been used by farmers in agriculture for more than a century starting from rhizobia inoculants to a more recent Plant Growth Promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for increasing the nitrogen fixation and synthesis of plant hormones. Biofertilizers consists of microorganism that improves the nutrient content of the soil and enhances their availability to the crops. Pant nutrients represent the most crucial component of sustainable agriculture. At present, soil management approaches are largely dependent on chemical-based inorganic fertilizers which have posed a serious threat to human health and the ecosystem. Even though the usage of various chemical fertilizers and pesticides has provided high yield and consequently, population growth over the last century. The environment can no longer tolerate these practices as it has sustained significant damage such as loss of soil quality, atmospheric pollution, high eutrophication, and groundwater contamination. Thus maintaining food security along with environmental sustainability has become a massive challenge. However, the adoption of bio fertilizers represents a dependable and eco-friendly solution. Biofertilizers being organic in nature holds a vast expectation in fulfilling nutrient requirements, soil and water quality thus providing a low-cost approach compared to synthetic fertilizers in managing crop yield without causing much harm to the environment. Biofertilizers are becoming an irreplaceable component in Integrated Nutrient Management in order to achieve sustainability in agriculture. This review paper brings to light the potential effects of biofertilizers on ecosystem services and environmental sustainability.