• Supporting greenspace for physical and mental wellbeing
They found most previous research in this area has focused on soil biological activity, nutrient cycling and carbon storage. There has less been less research on water-related services, urban food and cultural services such as recreation, sense of place or urban soil as a cultural record of history.
Roisin O’Riordan, lead author of the study, said: “Our study is novel because urban soil is normally forgotten about or considered to be so damaged by urbanisation that it no longer functions properly. Our review highlights the benefits that we know urban soils provide and brings together previous research into these benefits. But we also recognise that there is a lot more we still need to understand about the state of, and role of urban soils, and we have identified areas where more research is needed.