Soil health concerns the
practices of construction, agriculture, forestry, and other related
fields. Within urban areas, soil is used for road and building construction,
waste disposal, and open spaces. Soil is recognized as a resource
for human activity. Soil health is an important and often underestimated
component within urban areas. Soil health can be broken down into
two components: First, the soil's ability to sustain the environment;
and second, human's ability to sustain basic soil properties.
Urban soils lack their natural structure due to construction practices
creating soil compaction and horizon layer mixing. This reduces
the soil's ability to perform properly whether on-site or off-site.
Current development practices do not contain standards for soil
development beyond particle size. More specifically, there are no
standards for applying soils to landscaped areas or consideration
for indigenous soil properties.
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