Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions
Most urban greening interventions involve soil de-sealing and management to enhance fertility. Management typically requires translocating fertile topsoil to the site, which comes at great environmental costs. We hypothesized that de-sealed urban soils would undergo an increase of their fertility wi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/3/190 |
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| author | Anita Maienza Fabrizio Ungaro Silvia Baronti Ilaria Colzi Laura Giagnoni Cristina Gonnelli Giancarlo Renella Francesca Ugolini Costanza Calzolari |
| author_facet | Anita Maienza Fabrizio Ungaro Silvia Baronti Ilaria Colzi Laura Giagnoni Cristina Gonnelli Giancarlo Renella Francesca Ugolini Costanza Calzolari |
| author_sort | Anita Maienza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most urban greening interventions involve soil de-sealing and management to enhance fertility. Management typically requires translocating fertile topsoil to the site, which comes at great environmental costs. We hypothesized that de-sealed urban soils would undergo an increase of their fertility without exogenous topsoil application. We assessed experimental plots with de-sealed soil with topsoil, and de-sealed soil without topsoil. Both treatments were vegetated with two ornamental shrub species and irrigated. Soil fertility was analyzed by chemical (total and organic carbon) and biological indicators of soils (biological quality index and microbial activities). Since metal contamination is related to urban de-sealed soil, we also monitored the concentration of Zn, Cu and Pb in soil and detected it in plant leaves. The results demonstrate that de-sealed urban soils rapidly restore their biological quality and fertility. Restoration of de-sealing soils can contribute to the recent growing interest reclamation of urban soils for improving the urban environment quality through the restoration of soil functions and related ecosystem services. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that de-sealed soils can improve their functionality and can contribute to the recent growing interest in reclamation of urban soils for improving the urban environment quality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:33:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c5e00222e3e428e966570ce8eabe390 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:33:11Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c5e00222e3e428e966570ce8eabe3902023-12-11T18:21:32ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722021-02-0111319010.3390/agriculture11030190Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing InterventionsAnita Maienza0Fabrizio Ungaro1Silvia Baronti2Ilaria Colzi3Laura Giagnoni4Cristina Gonnelli5Giancarlo Renella6Francesca Ugolini7Costanza Calzolari8Institute of BioEconomy, National Research Council (IBE CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10 Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyInstitute of BioEconomy, National Research Council (IBE CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10 Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyInstitute of BioEconomy, National Research Council (IBE CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10 Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Firenze, Via Micheli 1, 50121 Firenze, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics (DICATAM), University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Firenze, Via Micheli 1, 50121 Firenze, ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyInstitute of BioEconomy, National Research Council (IBE CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10 Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyInstitute of BioEconomy, National Research Council (IBE CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10 Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, ItalyMost urban greening interventions involve soil de-sealing and management to enhance fertility. Management typically requires translocating fertile topsoil to the site, which comes at great environmental costs. We hypothesized that de-sealed urban soils would undergo an increase of their fertility without exogenous topsoil application. We assessed experimental plots with de-sealed soil with topsoil, and de-sealed soil without topsoil. Both treatments were vegetated with two ornamental shrub species and irrigated. Soil fertility was analyzed by chemical (total and organic carbon) and biological indicators of soils (biological quality index and microbial activities). Since metal contamination is related to urban de-sealed soil, we also monitored the concentration of Zn, Cu and Pb in soil and detected it in plant leaves. The results demonstrate that de-sealed urban soils rapidly restore their biological quality and fertility. Restoration of de-sealing soils can contribute to the recent growing interest reclamation of urban soils for improving the urban environment quality through the restoration of soil functions and related ecosystem services. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that de-sealed soils can improve their functionality and can contribute to the recent growing interest in reclamation of urban soils for improving the urban environment quality.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/3/190QBSsoil biological qualitysoil enzymesde-sealing |
| spellingShingle | Anita Maienza Fabrizio Ungaro Silvia Baronti Ilaria Colzi Laura Giagnoni Cristina Gonnelli Giancarlo Renella Francesca Ugolini Costanza Calzolari Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions Agriculture QBS soil biological quality soil enzymes de-sealing |
| title | Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions |
| title_full | Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions |
| title_fullStr | Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions |
| title_short | Biological Restoration of Urban Soils after De-Sealing Interventions |
| title_sort | biological restoration of urban soils after de sealing interventions |
| topic | QBS soil biological quality soil enzymes de-sealing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/3/190 |
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