Several principles are recommended for improving soil health, including keeping the soil covered, providing living roots as much of the year as possible, increasing biodiversity and reducing disturbance of the soil. Cover crops contribute to achieving all of these principles. In addition to their contributions to soil health, cover crops help with weed and pest management, provide habitat and food for pollinators and wildlife, and contribute to environmental benefits such as reduced erosion, sediment loss and water quality impacts from nutrients and pesticides. This chapter describes a range of different ways that cover crops can help improve or promote soil health. Many of the cover crop impacts on soil health are interrelated, and such connections will be identified where appropriate in the following sections.