Phytosanitary and hygienic indicators of healthy soil. <...> Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) emphasized the importance of healthy soil in world food security. <...> Data accumulated on the subject for a long time indicate the decisive significance of soil fertility in the development of agrarian civilization, social stratification of the cities and states, their evolution and prosperity. <...> Usually, soil health is understood as a biological functional category of the soil ecosystem, characterized by i) metabolism and catabolism of biophylic compounds, and ii) self-remediation from harmful substances and foreign biological agents. <...> Moreover, soil fertility is crucial for food security. <...> Mineral fertilizers used in the intensive agriculture no longer lead to a desired effect, but reduce the diversity of soil microbiota, critically affecting soil fertility. <...> Ensuring soil safety is considered one of the major global challenges, along with food and energy security and water problems. <...> Healthy soil is the factor permanently providing biological productivity of natural and anthropogenic ecosystems, diversity and evolution of soil biota. <...> Heterotrophic functional parameter discussed by the authors is one of the most important indicators of soil health to be taken into account in assessing soil condition and in remediation. <...> Healthy soil is capable of functioning indefinitely as a component of ground-soil ecosystem, which maintains water and air quality, as well as biological productivity and health of microbiota, plants, animals and humans. <...> Soil health control necessitates estimation of relevant functional parameters and factual criteria. <...> Chapter 1 («Soil as quasi-living system») discusses the parameters of degradation and pathology as important indicators to characterize Russian soils. <...> Chapter 3 («Harmful organisms adversely affecting soil sanitary parameters») sets out aspects of soil loading by pests which reduce its health. <...> The technology of molecular detection (isothermal DNA amplification, a bioluminescent detection, ELISA tests) and the limitations of their use are under brief consideration. <...> Particularly, CO2 emission is widely used as an important indicator of soil health. <...> As it is pointed out, the rate of soil CO2 emissions is an important indicator of intensity of biological processes as a resultant activity of geobionts and plant root system. <...> Slowing loss of biodiversity <...>