Summary
This observational study characterised the microbiological properties of 61 urban soils in Santiago de Compostela across grassland, forest, garden, and periurban arable land uses. Whilst bacterial community composition showed land use-dependent structure (33% variance explained), fungal communities were substantially more heterogeneous (18% variance). Soil organic matter and pH were stronger drivers of microbial functioning than land use category, except for alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity which was elevated in urban gardens.
UK applicability
These findings on urban soil microbiome drivers are potentially applicable to UK cities, though local factors such as climate, soil parent material, and urban management practices may modulate the relative importance of pH and organic matter. The methodology provides a transferable framework for assessing microbiological properties in UK urban green spaces and could inform urban soil management policy.
Key measures
Thirteen extracellular enzymatic activities; basal respiration; bacterial and fungal abundance (qPCR); bacterial and fungal community composition (Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing); soil organic matter; pH; phosphorus and nitrogen availability
Outcomes reported
The study quantified thirteen extracellular enzymatic activities, microbial respiration, microbial abundance (via DNA/qPCR), and community composition (16S rRNA and ITS sequencing) across 61 urban soils in Santiago de Compostela under four land use types. Results demonstrated high spatial heterogeneity in microbiological properties, with soil organic matter and pH as primary drivers rather than land use category.
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