Soil Profile Rebuilding

Urban development often results in stripped and compacted soils that cannot sustainably support trees and landscapes and provide little in terms of environmental benefits. Soil Profile Rebuilding is a cost-effective technique that can help rehabilitate these soils to provide documented increases in tree growth and ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and stormwater management.

Specifications for Soil Profile Rebuilding are available in two forms. The Full Specification is suitable for projects where enforcement and documentation of the specification are essential, typically in bidding environments where the lowest bid must be accepted. The Brief Specification is a truncated version designed simply to communicate the intent and process.

• Brief Spec
• Full Spec

Soil Profile Rebuilding Specification by Susan Day et al. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States License.

Both specifications are licensed under a Creative Commons license to allow the user full use of the specification in your business. However the specification itself may NOT be sold or distributed for commercial purposes. You may use the specification as is, or adapt it for your use. The term "Soil Profile Rebuilding" may only be applied if the specification is used as is. Research documentation only applies to the specification as written and references to Soil Profile Rebuilding or the documented outcomes cannot be used unless it refers to the specification as written. If you have suggestions for improving the specification, or alternate forms for different regions, we welcome your thoughts. It is our aim to facilitate the use of this specification as much as possible while preserving the integrity of the term "Soil Profile Rebuilding." Please contact us.

This technique is intended to address soil compaction in a sustainable fashion, especially the subsurface compaction common to developed areas. It can be used where there are existing soils that have been compacted by construction, pavement, traffic, or similar activities. It is not appropriate to use within the root zone of established trees and it is not appropriate for remediating engineered soils such as structural soils. It can be used in tight spaces such as street medians or wide-open expanses such as large landscapes that may be planted with combinations of trees, shrubs, perennial beds, or turf. It is also appropriate for gardens and other uses in modified form (i.e., without the tree or shrub planting).