biostudies-literatureUnknown14(7)Brame JEButyrate-producing bacteria colonise the gut of humans and non-human animals, where they produce butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid with known health benefits. Butyrate-producing bacteria also reside in soils and soil bacteria can drive the assembly of airborne bacterial communities (the aerobiome). Aerobiomes in urban greenspaces are important reservoirs of butyrate-producing bacteria as they supplement the human microbiome, but soil butyrate producer communities have rarely been examined in detail. Here, we studied soil metagenome taxonomic and functional profiles and soil physicochemical data from two urban greenspace types: sports fields (<i>n</i> = 11) and nature parks (<i>n</i> = 22). We also developed a novel method to quantify soil butyrate and characterised the in situ activity ofEcology and evolutione70057https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11262829biostudies-literatureUrban sports fields support higher levels of soil butyrate and butyrate-producing bacteria than urban nature parks.PMC11262829Fickling NWLiddicoat CCando-Dumancela CAbbott CABrame JERobinson JMBreed MFfalseUrban sports fields support higher levels of soil butyrate and butyrate-producing bacteria than urban nature parks.Butyrate-producing bacteria colonise the gut of humans and non-human animals, where they produce butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid with known health benefits. Butyrate-producing bacteria also reside in soils and soil bacteria can drive the assembly of airborne bacterial communities (the aerobiome). Aerobiomes in urban greenspaces are important reservoirs of butyrate-producing bacteria as they supplement the human microbiome, but soil butyrate producer communities have rarely been examined in detail. Here, we studied soil metagenome taxonomic and functional profiles and soil physicochemical data from two urban greenspace types: sports fields (<i>n</i> = 11) and nature parks (<i>n</i> = 22). We also developed a novel method to quantify soil butyrate and characterised the in situ activity of2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Jul2026-05-04T06:51:56.808Z2025-05-18T13:25:56.992ZS-EPMC112628293904101510.1002/ece3.70057