Science Inventory

Realizing the Opportunities of Black carbon in Urban Soils: Implications for Water Quality Management with Green Infrastructure

Citation:

Schifman, L., A. Prues, K. Gilkey, AND W. Shuster. Realizing the Opportunities of Black carbon in Urban Soils: Implications for Water Quality Management with Green Infrastructure. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier BV, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, 644:1027-1035, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.396

Impact/Purpose:

Soil ecosystem processes regulate the carbon cycle, and provide a sink for atmospheric black carbon (BC). Particularly in urban soil, BC may act as an effective sorbent of contaminants in green spaces. Soil ecosystem processes regulate the carbon cycle, and provide a sink for atmospheric black carbon (BC). Particularly in urban soil, BC may act as an effective sorbent of contaminants in green spaces. We determined soil hydrology, soil carbon pools (organic carbon, black carbon, and inorganic carbon) from urban soil assessments (surface and sub-surface horizons) carried out in the core areas of eleven cities in the United States. We used both ordinary least squares and non-parametric CART methods to discern trends in BC concentrations with regard to soil, landscape, and emission metrics. We report that even though the cities analyzed spanned various climate regions, the predictor variables for elevated BC concentrations in soil were found to be similar throughout the United States, specifically regional traffic density and vegetation. Additionally, the depth of the top horizon explained some variation of BC concentration in the sub-surface horizon. The potential of sites with coincident BC stocks and favorable infiltration rate were discussed as per their potential for multifunctional GI installation and performance as passive GI. The high sorption capacity of BC can contribute to regulating contaminant cycling in urban areas and to the overall value that urban soils offer in terms of ecosystem services.

Description:

Soil ecosystem processes regulate the carbon cycle, and provide a sink for atmospheric black carbon (BC). Particularly in urban soil, BC may act as an effective sorbent of contaminants in green spaces. We determined soil hydrology, soil carbon pools (organic carbon, black carbon, and inorganic carbon) from urban soil assessments (surface and sub-surface horizons) carried out in the core areas of eleven cities in the United States. We used both ordinary least squares and non-parametric CART methods to discern trends in BC concentrations with regard to soil, landscape, and emission metrics. We report that even though the cities analyzed spanned various climate regions, the predictor variables for elevated BC concentrations in soil were found to be similar throughout the United States, specifically regional traffic density and vegetation. Additionally, the depth of the top horizon explained some variation of BC concentration in the sub-surface horizon. The potential of sites with coincident BC stocks and favorable infiltration rate were discussed as per their potential for multifunctional GI installation and performance as passive GI. The high sorption capacity of BC can contribute to regulating contaminant cycling in urban areas and to the overall value that urban soils offer in terms of ecosystem services.