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Harnessing soil biodiversity to promote human health in cities
npj Urban Sustainability2023
57 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 60
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Xin Sun,
Changyi Lu,
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Alexei V. Tiunov,
Alexei V. Tiunov,
Stefan Scheu,
Craig Liddicoat,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Alexei V. Tiunov,
Xin Sun,
Stefan Geisen,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Bin Wang,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Stefan Scheu,
Alexei V. Tiunov,
Xin Sun,
Stefan Geisen,
Yiyue Zhang,
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Changyi Lu,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Zhipeng Li,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Stefan Scheu,
Stefan Scheu,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Xin Sun,
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Martin F. Breed,
Xin Sun,
Xin Sun,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Stefan Geisen,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Alexei V. Tiunov,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Stefan Geisen,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Stefan Geisen,
Martin F. Breed,
Martin F. Breed,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Xin Sun,
Xin Sun,
Zhipeng Li,
Yong‐Guan Zhu
Summary
Researchers argue that urban soil biodiversity — the vast community of microorganisms, fungi, and invertebrates living in city soils — plays an overlooked role in human health by suppressing pathogens, shaping the human microbiome, and supporting immune function, and that restoring it in cities could offer meaningful public health benefits.
Abstract Biodiversity is widely linked to human health, however, connections between human health and soil biodiversity in urban environments remain poorly understood. Here, we stress that reductions in urban soil biodiversity elevate risks to human health, but soil biodiversity can improve human health through pathways including suppressing pathogens, remediating soil, shaping a beneficial human microbiome and promoting immune fitness. We argue that targeted enhancement of urban soil biodiversity could support human health, in both outdoor and indoor settings. The potential of enhanced urban soil biodiversity to benefit human health reflects an important yet understudied field of fundamental and applied research.