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Better Gardens - Soil quality, Biodiversity and Social Value of Urban Gardens

Titre du projet
Better Gardens - Soil quality, Biodiversity and Social Value of Urban Gardens
Description
Gardens are very valuable for people and nature. They provide healthy vegetables; they are places to encounter nature and for recreation; and they provide essential habitats for plants and animals. Despite the increasing recognition of the social and ecological importance, and the considerable proportion of urban green spaces in the city area, there are still many gaps in our knowledge about urban gardens.

With the research project Better Gardens we want to explore how gardeners manage their gardens and which factors influence their decisions. Furthermore we want to investigate what effects different management practices have on soil quality, biodiversity and the quality of life of gardeners.

The study is being conducted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL. The project takes place from January 2015 to December 2017 in the three cities of Bern, Lausanne and Zurich.

BetterGardens is supported by the Swiss Family Gardens Association. The research project is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Chercheur principal
Statut
Completed
Date de début
1 Janvier 2015
Date de fin
31 Décembre 2018
Chercheurs
Fliessbach, Andreas
Moretti, Marco
Organisations
Site web du projet
Identifiant interne
37515
identifiant
https://libra.unine.ch/handle/123456789/1634
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  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Litter decomposition driven by soil fauna, plant diversity and soil management in urban gardens
    (2019-3-1)
    Tresch, Simon 
    ;
    Frey, David
    ;
    Le Bayon, Renée-Claire 
    ;
    Zanetta, Andrea
    ;
    Rasche, Frank
    ;
    Fliessbach, Andreas
    ;
    Moretti, Marco
    In the face of growing urban densification, green spaces in cities, such as gardens, are increasingly important for biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, the influences of urban green space management on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships is poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between soil fauna and litter decomposition in 170 urban garden sites along a gradient of urbanisation intensity in the city of Zurich, CH. We used litter bags of 1 and 4 mm mesh size to evaluate the contribution of soil meso- and macrofauna on litter decomposition. By using multilevel structural equation models (SEM), we investigated direct and indirect environmental effects and management practices on litter decomposition and litter residue quality. We evaluated the role of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of soil fauna species on litter decomposition, based on a sample of 120 species (81007 individuals; 39 collembola, 18 earthworm, 16 isopod, 47 gastropod species). We found highest litter decomposition rates using 4 mm mesh size litter bags, highlighting the importance of soil macrofauna. Urban warming, a proxy for urbanisation intensity, covaried positively, whereas soil disturbances, such as intensive soil and crop management, were negatively correlated with decomposition rates. Interestingly, soil fauna species richness decreased, with the exception of gastropods, and soil fauna abundance increased with urban warming. Our data also show that plant species richness positively affected litter decomposition by increasing soil fauna species richness and microbial activity. A multivariate analysis of organic compounds in litter residues confirmed the importance of soil fauna species richness and garden management on litter decomposition processes. Overall, we showed, that also in intensively managed urban green spaces, such as gardens, biodiversity of plants and soil fauna drives key ecosystem processes. Urban planning strategies that integrate soil protecting management practices may help to maintain important ecosystem services in this heavily used urban environment.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    A Gardener's Influence on Urban Soil Quality
    (2018-5-8)
    Tresch, Simon 
    ;
    Moretti, Marco
    ;
    Le Bayon, Renée-Claire 
    ;
    Mäder, Paul
    ;
    Zanetta, Andrea
    ;
    Frey, David
    ;
    Fliessbach, Andreas
    Gardens are hot spots for urban biodiversity and provide habitats for many plant and animal species, both above- and below-ground. Furthermore, gardens provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including carbon (C) storage and nutrient cycling. Although the soil is the foundation of sustainable gardens providing those ecosystem services, very little is known about the consequences of garden management on soil quality. Here we present a comprehensive assessment of urban garden soil quality, including biotic and abiotic site characteristics combined with land-use history and garden management information in a multivariate evaluation. A set of 44 soil quality indicators was measured at 170 sites of 85 gardens in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, comprising contrastingly managed garden habitats along a gradient of urban density. Taken together, our results show that garden management was the driving factor that influenced soil quality and soil functions. Eco-physiological soil quality indices were useful to identify differences in disturbance and intensity of soil use, showing highest microbial [microbial biomass (Cmic)/soil organic carbon (SOC)] and lowest metabolic (qCO2) quotients in perennial grass sites compared to annual vegetable sites. Despite the intensity of soil disturbance in annual vegetable and flower beds, the highest endogeic earthworm biomass and diversity were found in those habitats. Whereas decomposition of green tea bags was higher in grass sites. Soil heavy metal contents varied considerably and could not be linked with garden management practices, but with spatial patterns of industry and traffic. We conclude that understanding soil quality in urban ecosystems needs multi-indicator frameworks to capture the complexity of soil characteristics and the influencing factors in space and time. This study contributes to a better understanding of urban gardens and enhances the development of sustainable soil management strategies aimed at long-term improvement of soil quality and related ecosystem services in cities.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Urban Soil Quality Assessment—A Comprehensive Case Study Dataset of Urban Garden Soils
    (2018-11-13)
    Tresch, Simon 
    ;
    Moretti, Marco
    ;
    Le Bayon, Renée-Claire 
    ;
    Mäder, Paul
    ;
    Zanetta, Andrea
    ;
    Frey, David
    ;
    Stehle, Bernhard
    ;
    Kuhn, Anton
    ;
    Munyangabe, Adolphe
    ;
    Fliessbach, Andreas
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Direct and indirect effects of urban gardening on aboveground and belowground diversity influencing soil multifunctionality
    (2019-7-5)
    Tresch, Simon 
    ;
    Frey, David
    ;
    Le Bayon, Renée-Claire 
    ;
    Mäder, Paul
    ;
    Stehle, Bernhard
    ;
    Fliessbach, Andreas
    ;
    Moretti, Marco
    Urban gardens are popular green spaces that have the potential to provide essential ecosystem services, support human well-being, and at the same time foster biodiversity in cities. We investigated the impact of gardening activities on five soil functions and the relationship between plant (600 spp.) and soil fauna (earthworms: 18 spp., springtails: 39 spp.) in 85 urban gardens (170 sites) across the city of Zurich (Switzerland). Our results suggest that high plant diversity in gardens had a positive effect on soil fauna and soil multifunctionality, and that garden management intensity decreased plant diversity. Indices of biological activity in soil, such as organic and microbial carbon and bacterial abundance, showed a direct positive effect on soil multifunctionality. Soil moisture and disturbance, driven by watering and tilling, were the driving forces structuring plant and soil fauna communities. Plant indicator values proved useful to assess soil fauna community structure, even in anthropogenic plant assemblages. We conclude that to enhance soil functions, gardeners should increase plant diversity, and lower management intensity. Soil protective management practices, such as applying compost, mulch or avoiding soil tilling, should be included in urban green space planning to improve urban biodiversity and nature’s contribution to people.