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Widespread loss of intermediate soil horizons in urban landscapes
Citation:
Herrmann, D., L. Schifman, AND W. Shuster. Widespread loss of intermediate soil horizons in urban landscapes. PNAS (PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES). National Academy of Sciences, WASHINGTON, DC, 115(26):6751-6755, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800305115
Impact/Purpose:
Ecological management of urban landscapes is an ascendant planning philosophy and practice for addressing societal issues at multiple scales1. Soils support terrestrial ecosystem function2, and therefore, are critical urban infrastructure. The composition of urban soils is essential to our understanding of urban ecosystem structure and function, particularly the vertical stratification of soils (i.e., horizons).
Description:
Ecological management of urban landscapes is an ascendant planning philosophy and practice for addressing societal issues at multiple scales1. Soils support terrestrial ecosystem function2, and therefore, are critical urban infrastructure. The composition of urban soils is essential to our understanding of urban ecosystem structure and function, particularly the vertical stratification of soils (i.e., horizons). By comparing urban to pre-urban soils we quantified major shifts in horizon occurrence and ordering. These shifts have meaning for ecosystem function as horizons represent suites of biological, physical, and chemical properties. In an analysis of 11 cities, we show that urban soils have lost soil horizons when compared to reference soils representing pre-urban soil structure. “B” horizons were much less common in urban soils replaced by a deepening of “A” horizons and a shallowing of “C” horizons in soil profiles. In addition, urban soils deviated from the classic A-B-C horizon ordering at a much greater frequency than pre-urban soils. These changes to the vertical structure of soils through urbanization parallels what has been found for aboveground urban ecosystem structure: reduced complexity, sharper transitions, and novel arrangements. These findings indicate urban soils, especially subsoil horizons, will not behave like pre-urban soils but also identify key structural changes to test for consequences to ecosystem function.
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DOI: Widespread loss of intermediate soil horizons in urban landscapes
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