AGROSOIL is a transdisciplinary, European research project dedicated to transforming weed management in European agriculture through agroecological principles.  In response to the widespread reliance on herbicides and intensive tillage, there is an urgent need to promote alternative strategies that reduce these inputs. Agroecological weed management (AEWM) offers a promising pathway, aiming to suppress weeds while minimizing ecological disruption and enhancing agroecosystem resilience.

A central element of this transition is the soil microbiome (SM), a complex and dynamic community that drives key functions such as soil fertility, crop productivity and stress tolerance. AEWM practices, such as reducing tillage intensity or integrating cover crops, simultaneously influence weed communities and the soil microbiome. These practices promote greater weed functional diversity, which can lower weed competition and alter the composition and activity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere. In return, the soil microbiome reinforces AEWM through several mechanisms. These include the suppression of the weed seedbank by e.g. germination inhibition, seed decay, or unfavorable microbial signaling and the promotion of more diverse, less competitive weed communities by improving weed functional diversity. This interaction forms a feedback loop, in which AEWM practices shape both above and belowground community dynamics and the soil microbiome, which in return, enhances the effectiveness of AEWM strategies.