Brno Case Study

Monitoring of soil quality in gardens of private owners in the city of Brno. The gardens are located near family houses or in gardening colonies. The soil is technosol/chernozem/fluvisol – loamy soils under continental climate.

Objectives

While the soil quality, including contamination, is carefully monitored in the agricultural land, the urban soils are almost overlooked. There is no regulation requiring regular monitoring of urban soils or assessment of risks that they may bring to human health due to contamination. Urban citizens who own gardens may use them to produce fruits, vegetables, or herbs. People may hope that home-grown production is healthier than the goods in supermarkets. However, soil in the cities, including the soil in the gardens, may suffer from low quality due to its history or may be contaminated. Therefore, we aim to determine the soil quality, including contamination, in the typical city gardens and discuss the reasons and consequences. In total, the study includes several tens of gardens ranging in size from 70-1400 m2.

Local Focus

Survey of private and community gardens in Brno to define the condition of the soil including the content of pollutants.