Ecology of Soil-Dwelling Insects and their Influence on Crop Health: A Review

Abstract

Soil-dwelling insects play indispensable roles in regulating soil health, nutrient cycling, plant productivity, and ecological stability within agroecosystems. As integral components of the soil food web, these organisms function as decomposers, herbivores, predators, mutualists, and bioindicators, facilitating organic matter breakdown, microbial regulation, and natural pest suppression. Their habitat preferences, vertical stratification, and functional niches are governed by soil moisture, texture, organic content, and vegetation diversity. Through litter fragmentation and bioturbation, insects like termites, beetles, and ants enhance soil aggregation, aeration, and nutrient mobilization, directly influencing crop health and yield. Interactions with microbes, nematodes, and rhizosphere communities further extend their ecological relevance, promoting microbial diversity and inducing plant defence pathways. Anthropogenic pressures such as tillage, pesticide application, habitat loss, and climate-induced shifts in temperature and precipitation regimes significantly alter their diversity, abundance, and functionality. Invasive soil insects and changing geographical distributions exacerbate pest risks and ecological imbalances.  Conservation agriculture practices, agroecological interventions, habitat engineering, and the use of insect-based biofertilizers and biocontrol agents offer sustainable pathways to enhance beneficial soil insect functions. Molecular tools like DNA metabarcoding and soil metagenomics are advancing the resolution and scope of insect diversity assessments, while long-term multi-scalar research remains crucial for understanding their systemic impacts. Soil insects also exhibit  strong potential as ecological indicators of land degradation, pollution, and agricultural sustainability due to their sensitivity to environmental stressors and ecosystem alterations. Integrating soil entomology into modern agricultural frameworks and policy planning is critical for developing resilient and productive agroecosystems under the pressures of intensification and climate change.