Soil management is key to maintaining soil moisture in urban gardens facing changing climatic conditions

Urban Farm DB summary

A six-week study in summer 2017 in urban gardens in California, conducted with volunteer gardeners, examined how ambient temperature, water use, vegetation, ground cover, and soil management affect soil moisture gain and loss rates. The research found that plot-level soil management is essential for maintaining stable water levels within garden soils. Plots with better soil quality, indicated by higher water holding capacity, experienced slower rates of soil moisture gain after watering but also slower rates of soil moisture loss, resulting in more stable moisture profiles over time.