ABSTRACT
Urban soils are notoriously challenging to categorize. Healthy soils in cities are essential to the functioning of healthy urban ecosystems. The presence of organisms is affected by reduced areas of naturally formed vegetation and fauna, and by much greater densities of humans and urban adapted wildlife. Development of the built urban environment has a profound impact on the soil. Urban areas typically retain a considerable amount of land, such as urban parks and greenspaces, that has neither commercial nor residential construction. Urban soils often have levels of biota that are lower than those found in rural areas. This condition arises partly because of thinner topsoils and lower organic matter, and partly due to the higher levels of compaction in urban soils. Urban dwellers have long had the need and the desire to grow plants both for food and for aesthetic reasons.
