A combined analysis based on microbial communities and volatile organic compounds as a tool to study soil quality in an urban environment

Soil play crucial roles in providing relevant ecosystem services for a health planet. Particularly, soil microorganisms are relevant for the terrestrial ecosystem functioning. Anthropogenic activities, such as urbanisation, have an impact on the soil microorganism diversity that is considered an indicator of soil quality. In this scenario, urban soils are becoming a rising research topic and exploring associated microorganisms in urban greenspaces is an essential step toward a sustainable development. Importance of soil in the release and uptake of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between ecosystems has been also established. Here, two approaches, based on DNA metabarcoding and VOC profiling, were used to characterize flowerbed urban soils located in an Italian city.