{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-25T16:17:40Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2023-05-11", "title": "Water availability creates global thresholds in multidimensional soil biodiversity and functions", "description": "Soils support an immense portion of Earth's biodiversity and maintain multiple ecosystem functions which are essential for human well-being. Environmental thresholds are known to govern global vegetation patterns, but it is still unknown whether they can be used to predict the distribution of soil organisms and functions across global biomes. Using a global field survey of 383 sites across contrasting climatic and vegetation conditions, here we showed that soil biodiversity and functions exhibited pervasive nonlinear patterns worldwide and are mainly governed by water availability (precipitation and potential evapotranspiration). Changes in water availability resulted in drastic shifts in soil biodiversity (bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates) and soil functions including plant-microbe interactions, plant productivity, soil biogeochemical cycles and soil carbon sequestration. Our findings highlight that crossing specific water availability thresholds can have critical consequences for the provision of essential ecosystem services needed to sustain our planet.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Ecolog\u00eda (Biolog\u00eda)", "2505.01 Biogeograf\u00eda", "Medio ambiente natural", "Water availability", "2417.13 Ecolog\u00eda Vegetal", "2417.90 Fijaci\u00f3n y Movilizaci\u00f3n Biol\u00f3gica de Nutrientes", "Water", "Edafolog\u00eda (Biolog\u00eda)", "Biodiversity", "15. Life on land", "Soil functions", "574", "Soil biodiversity", "Invertebrates", "6. Clean water", "631.4", "Soil", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Animals", "Humans", "Thresholds", "502.5", "Ecosystem"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature%20Ecology%20%26amp%3B%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3", "name": "item", "description": "10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-05-11T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1038/s42949-024-00154-z", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-25T16:17:43Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2024-03-16", "title": "Urban greenspaces and nearby natural areas support similar levels of soil ecosystem services", "description": "Abstract

Greenspaces are important for sustaining healthy urban environments and their human populations. Yet their capacity to support multiple ecosystem services simultaneously (multiservices) compared with nearby natural ecosystems remains virtually unknown. We conducted a global field survey in 56 urban areas to investigate the influence of urban greenspaces on 23 soil and plant attributes and compared them with nearby natural environments. We show that, in general, urban greenspaces and nearby natural areas support similar levels of soil multiservices, with only six of 23 attributes (available phosphorus, water holding capacity, water respiration, plant cover, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and arachnid richness) significantly greater in greenspaces, and one (available ammonium) greater in natural areas. Further analyses showed that, although natural areas and urban greenspaces delivered a similar number of services at low (>25% threshold) and moderate (>50%) levels of functioning, natural systems supported significantly more functions at high (>75%) levels of functioning. Management practices (mowing) played an important role in explaining urban ecosystem services, but there were no effects of fertilisation or irrigation. Some services declined with increasing site size, for both greenspaces and natural areas. Our work highlights the fact that urban greenspaces are more similar to natural environments than previously reported and underscores the importance of managing urban greenspaces not only for their social and recreational values, but for supporting multiple ecosystem services on which soils and human well-being depends.Greenspaces are important for sustaining healthy urban environments and their human populations. Yet their capacity to support multiple ecosystem services simultaneously (multiservices) compared with nearby natural ecosystems remains virtually unknown. We conducted a global field survey in 56 urban areas to investigate the influence of urban greenspaces on 23 soil and plant attributes and compared them with nearby natural environments. We show that, in general, urban greenspaces and nearby natural areas support similar levels of soil multiservices, with only six of 23 attributes (available phosphorus, water holding capacity, water respiration, plant cover, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and arachnid richness) significantly greater in greenspaces, and one (available ammonium) greater in natural areas. Further analyses showed that, although natural areas and urban greenspaces delivered a similar number of services at low (>25% threshold) and moderate (>50%) levels of functioning, natural systems supported significantly more functions at high (>75%) levels of functioning. Management practices (mowing) played an important role in explaining urban ecosystem services, but there were no effects of fertilisation or irrigation. Some services declined with increasing site size, for both greenspaces and natural areas. Our work highlights the fact that urban greenspaces are more similar to natural environments than previously reported and underscores the importance of managing urban greenspaces not only for their social and recreational values, but for supporting multiple ecosystem services on which soils and human well-being depends.