Effects of Urbanization on Soil Quality in the Rural‒Urban Gradient of Bengaluru, India

Understanding the impact of urbanization on soil quality is crucial for sustainable land management practices. This study was conducted in Bengaluru, India, to estimate the soil quality index (SQI) under different rural‒urban gradient (RUG) zones. Twenty-four sampling sites were identified along the RUG, and soil samples were collected monthly over five months during the October to February of 2020-2021. The soil quality assessment involved selecting the minimum data set (MDS) via principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation, scoring soil indicators, and combining these scores to create the soil quality index (SQI). PCA was used to identify key soil properties, which included microbial biomass carbon (MBC), SOC, N, manganese (Mn), and urease for different RUG zones derived from the MDS. The rural zones had the highest SQI (0.57), followed by the peri-urban (0.47 and 0.48) and urban (0.45 and 0.47) zones. These findings emphasize the importance of sustainable land management practices to preserve and boost soil quality across diverse regions, particularly in the face of rapid urbanization and industrialization.