Assessment of Soil Health in Urban Agriculture: Soil Enzymes and Microbial Properties

Urban Farm DB summary

This study evaluated urban agriculture soil quality through microbial assessment, comparing soils that had received either organic or inorganic fertilizer for 10 years. It measured soil enzyme activities, dehydrogenase, beta-glucosidase, arylsulfatase, urease, and alkaline and acid phosphatases, as indicators of microbial-mediated function, and used fatty acid methyl ester analysis to characterize microbial community composition. Organically fertilized soils showed relatively higher microbial community richness and enzyme activity than inorganically fertilized soils, with principal component analysis explaining organic fertilizer's positive influence on the microbial community, leading the study to conclude organic fertilizer can be a better alternative than inorganic fertilizer for long-term urban agriculture soil health and safety.