Soil health is the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans, and connects agricultural and soil science to policy, stakeholder needs and sustainable supply-chain management. Historically, soil assessments focused on crop production, but, today, soil health also includes the role of soil in water quality, climate change and human health. However, quantifying soil health is still dominated by chemical indicators, despite growing appreciation of the importance of soil biodiversity, owing to limited functional knowledge and lack of effective methods. In this Perspective, the definition and history of soil health are described and compared with other soil concepts. We outline ecosystem services provided by soils, the indicators used to measure soil functionality and their integration into informative soil-health indices. Scientists should embrace soil health as an overarching principle that contributes to sustainability goals, rather than only a property to measure.

土壤健康是指土壤作为维持植物、动物和人类生存的重要生命生态系统的持续能力，并将农业和土壤科学与政策、利益相关者需求和可持续供应链管理联系起来。历史上，土壤评估侧重于作物生产，但如今，土壤健康还包括土壤在水质、气候变化和人类健康中的作用。然而，尽管人们越来越认识到土壤生物多样性的重要性，但由于功能性知识有限和缺乏有效方法，量化土壤健康仍然以化学指标为主。在本视角中，描述了土壤健康的定义和历史，并与其他土壤概念进行了比较。我们概述了土壤提供的生态系统服务、用于衡量土壤功能的指标以及将其纳入信息丰富的土壤健康指数。科学家应该将土壤健康视为有助于实现可持续发展目标的首要原则，而不仅仅是一个需要衡量的属性。