Different soils, different communities

Urban soils: unexpected habitats

Cities are often seen as places where nature has been replaced by buildings and roads. However, urban soils can support surprisingly diverse communities of organisms.

Urban environments contain many different soil habitats, including parks, gardens, roadside vegetation and restored green spaces. At the same time, urban soils face challenges such as compaction, pollution, sealing and altered water conditions.

A small patch of soil between buildings can therefore tell a fascinating story: it reflects both the pressures of urban life and the ability of organisms to adapt to changing environments.

To get a microscopic glimpse of several organisms found in pot plant soil and in a small gap surrounded by concrete, you can watch the video “Weird Soils – Unexpected places full of life”. It was produced as part of the Soilwatching series by F. Klinghammer, E. Hammer, and C. Wolfang at Lund University and lasts for approximately 4 minutes.