Regenerative agriculture supports soil health and biodiversity in an urban landscape

Regenerative agriculture describes an approach to farming that seeks to reduce the negative impacts of agriculture on the environment, which is largely accomplished through implementing management practices that support soil health. Although regenerative agriculture is well-researched in traditional field-based agroecosystems, little work has been done to determine its efficacy in the context of urban farming. Here, we collaborated with Local Ecology and Agriculture Fremont (LEAF), a small urban farm in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA, to compare soil health and food web structure between uncultivated soils, soils managed regeneratively for four years (Regen.4), and soils managed regeneratively for 10 years (Regen.10) to understand if regenerative agriculture can support soil health and biodiversity when implemented in an urban landscape. We found significant differences in soil chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity, and lead concentration between plots, which were likely due to the management and land use history of each. While total soil carbon did not differ between plots, we found the Regen.4 plot had a higher proportion of labile carbon compared to the uncultivated plot as well as a greater abundance of soil microorganisms and nematodes. The Regen.4 soils also showed improvements in physical properties such as higher aggregate stability and lower compaction compared to the uncultivated and Regen.10 soils. Overall, our data suggests that regenerative agriculture could be a means to support soil health and biodiversity in urban landscapes while cultivating fresh foods for local communities.