Abstract

The onset of the anthropogenic destruction of ecosystems is one of the ongoing problems that can threaten the existence of organisms, including humans. The emerging problem can be effectively addressed through restoration ecology, a naturebased solution that promises to be cost-effective. Microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, are omnipresent and provide numerous benefits to the ecosystem, such as sustainable plant productivity, enriched soil nutrients, increased soil carbon pool, decomposition, and a stable environment for human life. Soil microorganisms also play a fundamental role in ecosystem functioning and conserving plant diversity. Exploring voluminous beneficial microorganisms and promoting the reestablishment of these beneficial microbes in the soil will preserve Earth's diverse native plant populations, which, in turn, will help in improving soil and be a vital player in enhancing ecosystem primary productivity, food chain, and locking away atmospheric carbon into its plant body and soil. Microbial restoration can be achieved by basic and traditional methods, i.e., (i) by treating the soil with organic matter-rich manure harvested from bio piles, (ii) composting, (iii) graze manuring, (iv) natural manuring, and (v) plant-assisted microbial restoration technique. Regenerative/carbon farming can also be practiced in parallel to enhance the restoration rate and protect beneficial microbial life in the soil. However, the increasing use of microbial inoculants is also raising several queries about their effectiveness and their impacts on autochthonous soil microorganisms, which should be cautiously considered before introducing bioinoculants for restoration. Even if bioinoculants restore the microbial community, they have the following shortcomings: (i) prolonged persistence of microbial colonies and detection in soil; (ii) the monitoring of the impact of the introduced bioinoculants on native soil microbial communities, which needs to be monitored examined periodically. This chapter delves into fundamental and conventional techniques and approaches that can be employed to maintain soil microbial populations. Furthermore, the chapter investigates the possibility of creating protocols for regulatory or commercial objectives, emphasizing the significance of ecological restoration by using bioinoculants or microbial colonies in degraded sites.