Urban Soils: Principles and Practice

Description

This textbook addresses the increasing trend in urbanization of the world’s population and its relation with urban soils. Written by active practitioners of university level teaching and research, this book is designed primarily as an educational text, while it also provides readers with an authoritative gateway to the primary literature. It includes explicit coverage of spatial and statistical (multivariate) techniques and case studies to illustrate key concept, and to support practical guidance in issues such as data collection and analysis. The authors reflect current developments in research and urban trends. In China, for example, the proportion of the population living in cities increased from 13% in 1950 to 45% in 2010 (World Bank data). Australia is one of the world's top ten urbanised countries with population greater than ten million, with approximately 90% of its population living in cities, mainly along Australia's coast. The most rapidly urbanising populations are currently in nations of the African continent. Soils in urban areas have multiple functions which are becoming more valued by urban communities: soils supply water, nutrients and physical support for urban plant and animal communities (parks, reserves, gardens), and are becoming increasingly valued for growing food. Soils may be used for building foundations, or as building materials themselves. Urban hydrology relies on the existence of unsealed soils for aquifer protection and flood control. This volume presents the importance of urban ecosystems and the impacts of global change. It examines pedogenesis of urban soils: natural materials affected by urban phenomena, and natural processes acting on urban materials, including an examination of different climatic zones. There is a focus on soils formed on landfill, reclaimed land, dredge spoils as well as soil-related changes in urban geomorphology. There is plenty of discussion on urban soil as a source and sink as well as soil geochemistry and health.  The book is intended primarily as a text for upper-level undergraduate, and postgraduate (Masters) students. It will also be invaluable as a resource for professionals such as researchers, environmental regulators, and environmental consultants.  Preface Notes Photo Credits for Opening Images of Each Chapter Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1: Urban Ecosystems: Soils and the Rise and Fall of Cities 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Influence of Soils on Cities 1.3 Global Trends in Urbanisation 1.4 Human Use of Soils 1.5 Human Impacts on Soils 1.6 Additional Reading 1.7 Summary 1.8 Questions 1.8.1 Checking your Understanding 1.8.2 Thinking about the Issues 1.8.3 Contemplating Urban Soils Creatively References Chapter 2: Formation and Properties of Urban Soils 2.1 Introduction to Urban Pedology and Pedogenesis 2.1.1 State Factors and Soil Formation 2.1.2 Soil Fluxes and Soil Formation 2.1.3 Pedogenesis of Urban Soils 2.2 Soil-Related Changes in Urban Geomorphology 2.2.1 Modification of Surface Hydrology 2.2.2 Coastal Land Reclamation 2.2.3 Other Built-up Landforms 2.2.4 Landforms Modified by Removal of Material 2.3 Characteristics of Urban and Anthropogenic Soils 2.3.1 Urban Soils with Minimal Modification 2.3.2 Distinctive Properties of Soils in Urban Environments 2.3.3 Coastal Reclaimed Soils 2.3.4 Soils on Landfills 2.3.5 Soils on Dredge Spoils and Coastal Acid Sulphate Soils 2.3.6 Soil-Like Materials 2.4 Archaeological Features of Urban Soils 2.4.1 Archaeological Anthropogenic Landforms 2.4.2 The Soil ‘Cultural Layer’ 2.4.3 Archaeological Information from Major Elements 2.4.4 Archaeological Information from Trace Elements 2.4.5 Archaeological Information from Other Chemical Substances 2.4.6 Archaeological Information from Geophysical Techniques 2.4.7 Archaeological Information from Soil Microbial Properties 2.5 Additional Reading 2.6 Summary 2.7 Questions 2.7.1 Checking Your Understanding 2.7.2 Thinking About the Issues 2.7.3 Contemplating Urban Soils Creatively References Chapter 3: Spatial Variability and Data Analysis in Urban Soils 3.1 Soil Variability in Urban Environments 3.1.1 Cities and Regional Soil Variability 3.1.2 Soil Variability at the Scale of Cities 3.1.3 Soil Variability at the Locality or Site Scale 3.1.4 Contamination Hotspots 3.1.5 Soil Variability with Depth 3.2 Measurement and Description of Soil Variability 3.2.1 Sampling Depth 3.2.2 Sampling Strategies and Designs for Urban Soils 3.2.2.1 Sampling Density 3.2.2.2 Sampling for Hotspots 3.3 Analysis of Spatial Data 3.3.1 Maps 3.3.2 Spatial Autocorrelation 3.3.3 Variograms and Kriging 3.4 Comparison of Sampling Strata 3.4.1 Comparing Mean or Median Values 3.4.2 Transforming Variables 3.4.3 Pairwise Comparisons 3.4.4 Effect Sizes for Comparing Means 3.5 Relationships between Variables 3.5.1 Correlation Analysis 3.5.2 Regression Analysis 3.5.3 Multivariate Analysis 3.6 Further Reading 3.7 Summary 3.8 Questions 3.8.1 Checking your Understanding 3.8.2 Thinking about the Issues 3.8.3 Using Your Creative Brain References Chapter 4: Urban Soil Functions 4.1 Roles and Ecosystem Services of Soils in Urban Systems 4.2 Soil Functions Related to Soil Physical Properties and Processes 4.2.1 Soil Energy 4.2.2 Soil Functions Related to Hydrological Properties and Processes 4.3 Soil Functions Related to Soil Biological Properties and Processes 4.3.1 Biological Effects on Soil Physical Properties 4.3.2 Nutrient Cycling 4.3.3 Soil Food Webs 4.4 Soil Functions Related to Soil Chemical Properties and Processes 4.4.1 Formation of Secondary Minerals and Organic Matter 4.4.2 Cation and Anion Exchange Reactions 4.4.3 Chemical Adsorption Reactions 4.4.4 Precipitation and Co-precipitation 4.4.4.1 Dependence of Precipitation on pH and Redox 4.4.4.2 Co-precipitation 4.5 Soil Functions Related to Human Concerns 4.6 Summary 4.7 Further Reading 4.8 Questions 4.8.1 Checking Your Understanding 4.8.2 Thinking About the Issues 4.8.3 Contemplating Soils Creatively References Chapter 5: Urban Soil Physics 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Physical Constraints Observed in Urban Soils 5.2.1 Surface Sealing and Subsoil Layering 5.2.2 Soil Density and Porosity 5.2.3 Coarse Fragments and Artefacts 5.2.4 Soil Structure 5.2.5 Soil Strength 5.2.6 Soil Erosion and Erodibility 5.2.7 Soil Temperature and Heat Fluxes 5.2.8 Heterogeneity of Soil Physical Properties 5.3 Effects of Urban Soil Physical Constraints on Ecosystem Functioning 5.3.1 Effect of Impervious Surfaces 5.3.2 Effects of Soil Density and Porosity 5.3.3 Effects of Soil Strength 5.3.3.1 Effects on Biological Components of Soil 5.3.3.2 Effects on Human Construction 5.3.4 Effects of Soil Erosion 5.3.5 Effects of Warmer Soils 5.4 Soil Physical Measurements 5.4.1 Standard Soil Physical Methods 5.4.2 Geophysical Methods 5.4.3 Remote Sensing Methods 5.5 Additional Reading 5.6 Summary 5.7 Questions 5.7.1 Checking Your Understanding 5.7.2 Thinking About the Issues 5.7.3 Contemplating Soils Creatively References Chapter 6: Inorganic Contaminants in Urban Soils 6.1 Sources of Inorganic Contaminants in Urban Soils 6.1.1 Sources of Nutrients 6.1.2 Sources of Metals 6.1.3 Sources of Other Contaminants 6.1.4 Acid Sulphate Soils 6.1.4.1 Other Acidic Urban Soils 6.2 Controls on Contaminant Behaviour in Urban Soils 6.2.1 Reactions Involving Soil Solid Phases 6.2.1.1 Metals in Mineral Phases 6.2.1.2 Metals Retained by Surface Reactions: Chemisorption, Ion Exchange 6.2.1.3 Metals in Solution and Aqueous Speciation 6.2.2 Concentrations of Contaminants 6.2.3 Transport of Metals and Nutrients 6.2.4 Time 6.2.5 Soil Properties 6.2.5.1 Soil pH 6.2.5.2 Cation Exchange Capacity 6.2.5.3 Soil Organic Matter or Organic Amendments 6.2.5.4 Soil Redox Potential 6.2.5.5 Soil Mineral Phases/Major Elements 6.3 Effects of Inorganic Soil Contaminants on Ecosystem Services 6.3.1 Nutrients 6.3.1.1 Soil Environments 6.3.1.2 Receiving Environments 6.3.2 Trace Elements 6.3.2.1 Plants 6.3.2.2 Soil Microbiota, Meso- and Macrofauna 6.3.2.3 Humans 6.4 Measurements and Data 6.4.1 Total Elemental Analyses 6.4.2 Partial Analyses 6.4.2.1 Partial Analyses for Metals and Metalloids 6.4.3 Field Measurements 6.4.4 Background Concentrations 6.4.5 Regulatory Contamination Thresholds 6.4.6 Distinguishing Geogenic from Anthropogenic Contamination 6.4.7 Contamination Indices 6.4.8 Heterogeneity of Soil Chemical Properties 6.5 Further Reading 6.6 Summary 6.7 Questions 6.7.1 Checking Your Understanding 6.7.2 Thinking About the Topics More Deeply 6.7.3 A Question ‘Out of Left Field’ References Chapter 7: Organic Contaminants in Urban Soils 7.1 Sources of Organic Contaminants in Urban Soils 7.1.1 Types of Organic Compounds 7.1.1.1 Categories of Organic Contaminants Based on General Chemical Properties 7.2 Controls on Organic Contaminant Behaviour in Urban Soils 7.2.1 Non-polar, Non-ionic Compounds 7.2.1.1 Adsorption of Non-polar Organics 7.2.1.2 Volatilisation 7.2.2 Behaviour of Polar or Ionisable Organic Compounds 7.2.3 Adsorption of Ionisable and Polar Organics 7.2.3.1 Cation Exchange 7.2.3.2 Adsorption of Anionic Organics 7.2.4 Chemical Degradation (Abiotic) of Organic Compounds 7.2.5 Biological Degradation 7.2.6 Transport of Organic Contaminants 7.3 Effects of Organic Soil Contaminants on Ecosystem Services 7.4 Measurements and Data 7.4.1 Total and Partial Analyses 7.4.1.1 Soil Sampling for Organic Compounds 7.4.1.2 Extraction of Organic Compounds from Soil 7.4.1.3 Analysis of Organic Compounds in Extracts 7.4.2 Background Concentrations 7.4.3 Regulatory Contamination Thresholds 7.4.4 Contamination Indices 7.5 Case Study: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Pearl River Delta 7.5.1 The Pearl River Delta 7.5.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons 7.5.3 PAH Concentrations in Soils of the Pearl River Delta 7.5.4 Fractionation of Individual PAHs 7.5.5 Sources of PAH Pollution in the Pearl River Delta 7.5.6 Controls on PAH Concentrations and Fractionation 7.5.7 Fluxes of PAHs to and from Soils in the Pearl River Delta 7.5.8 Other Issues for PAHs in the Pearl River Delta 7.6 Summary 7.7 Further Reading 7.8 Questions 7.8.1 Checking Your Understanding 7.8.2 Thinking About the Topics More Deeply 7.8.3 A Question ‘Out of Left Field’ References Chapter 8: Soil Biological Processes in Urban Soils 8.1 Urban Soils 8.2 Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Soils 8.3 Types of Urban Soil Environments and the Habitat they Provide 8.3.1 Grasslands (Parks, Gardens and Sports Grounds) 8.3.2 Urban Gardens (Residential, Community and Collective Gardens) 8.3.3 Urban Wastelands and Unoccupied Land 8.3.4 Road Verges, Street Medians and Tree Pits 8.3.5 Covered Soils 8.3.6 Urban Green Infrastructure (Green Roofs, Bioswales and Other Engineered Habitats) 8.4 Organisms Present in Urban Soils 8.4.1 Soil Invertebrates 8.4.2 Soil Microbiome 8.5 Measuring Soil Organisms 8.5.1 Measurement of Soil Fauna 8.5.2 Measuring the Soil Microbiome 8.5.3 Multivariate Analysis of Soil Organisms 8.6 Relationships Between Urban Habitats and Resident Organisms 8.6.1 Habitat Structure 8.6.2 Soil Characteristics (pH, Nutrients, Moisture) 8.6.3 Soil Contamination (Metals, Pesticides, PAHs) 8.6.4 Urban Soils and Human Health 8.7 Novel Uses/Metabolisms or Urban Soil Organisms 8.8 Additional Reading 8.9 Review and Study Questions 8.9.1 Checking Your Understanding 8.9.2 Thinking About the Issues 8.9.3 Contemplating Urban Soil Biology More Creatively References Chapter 9: Urban Soil as a Source and Sink 9.1 Transport Mechanisms Relating to Substances in Soils 9.1.1 Diffusion 9.1.2 Advection (Mass Flow) 9.1.3 Adhering 9.1.4 Bioturbation 9.2 Urban Soil as Source and Sink of Material 9.2.1 Point and Diffuse Sources of Soil Contamination 9.2.2 Dusts and Other Airborne Particulates 9.2.3 Road Traffic 9.2.4 Atmospheric Deposition and Emissions from Urban Soils 9.2.4.1 Carbon Fluxes to and from Urban Soils 9.2.4.2 Nitrogen Fluxes to and from Urban Soils 9.2.4.3 Sulphur Fluxes to and from Urban Soils 9.2.5 Soil as a Source of Nutrients 9.2.6 Soil as a Source and Sink for Potentially Toxic Substances 9.2.6.1 Potentially Toxic Elements 9.2.6.2 Hydrocarbons 9.2.6.3 Persistent Organic Pollutants 9.2.6.4 Radionuclides 9.2.6.5 Mineral Contaminants Including Asbestos 9.3 A First Look at Risk Analysis 9.3.1 The Conceptual Site Model Framework 9.3.2 Risk Analysis: Dosages and Hazard Indices 9.3.3 Soil-Based Guidelines: Threshold-Based Risk Assessment 9.4 Further Reading 9.5 Summary 9.6 Questions 9.6.1 Checking your Understanding 9.6.2 Thinking about the Topics more Deeply 9.6.3 Thinking Creatively about Urban Soils References Chapter 10: Urban Soil and Human Health 10.1 Urban Soils and Sustainable Development 10.1.1 Poverty and its Relationships with Urban Soil 10.1.2 Food Security and Its Relationships with Urban Soil 10.1.3 Physical Health and Well-being and Urban Soils 10.1.4 Education and Urban Soils 10.1.5 Gender Equality and Empowerment and Urban Soils 10.1.6 Healthy Water and Urban Soils 10.1.7 Urban Soils and Employment 10.1.8 Climate Change and Urban Soils 10.1.9 Terrestrial Life and Urban Soils 10.2 Other Human Health Issues Related to Urban Soils 10.2.1 Urban Soil Remediation 10.2.2 Acid Sulfate Soils and Human Health 10.2.3 Environmental Justice Issues 10.2.4 Case Studies of Environmental (in)Justice in Urban Soils 10.3 Further Reading 10.4 Summary 10.5 Questions 10.5.1 Checking Your Understanding 10.5.2 Thinking About the Topics more Deeply 10.5.3 Thinking Creatively About Urban Soils References Chapter 11: Urban Soil Remediation 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Remediation Criteria 11.2.1 Factors Affecting the Selection of Remediation Method(s) 11.2.2 Objectives for Urban Land/Soil Remediation/Rehabilitation 11.3 Physical Soil Remediation Methods 11.3.1 Natural Physical Attenuation 11.3.2 Soil Excavation and Removal 11.3.3 Soil Containment: Covering, Surface Sealing, and Encapsulation 11.3.4 Soil Solidification 11.3.5 Phase Separation 11.4 Chemical Soil Remediation Methods 11.4.1 Abiotic Natural Attenuation 11.4.2 Soil Amendments 11.4.3 Soil Washing 11.4.4 Soil Flushing (In Situ Soil Washing) 11.4.5 Electrokinetic Migration 11.4.6 Permeable Reactive Barriers 11.5 Biological Soil Remediation Methods 11.5.1 Natural Biological Attenuation 11.5.2 In Situ Enhanced Bioremediation 11.5.3 Bioventing and Biosparging 11.5.4 Bioremediation Using Biopiles, Landfarming, or Bioreactors 11.5.5 Phytoremediation 11.6 Urban Soils as Media for Remediation of Water 11.6.1 Constructed Wetlands 11.6.2 Infiltration Beds 11.6.3 WSUD (Swales, Rain Gardens, Wetlands, Green Roofs/Walls, Etc.) 11.7 Case Studies in Brief: Effectiveness of Urban Soil Remediation 11.7.1 Asbestos in Soil in an Urban Land Development, Canberra, Australia 11.7.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Timber Treatment Site Soil, Florida, USA 11.7.3 Trace Elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Tl, Zn) from a Mine Tailings Spill, Guadiamar River valley, Spain 11.8 Regulatory Frameworks for Contaminated Sites and Soil Remediation 11.8.1 United States of America 11.8.2 Europe 11.8.3 Australia 11.9 Further Reading 11.10 Summary 11.11 Review and Study Questions 11.11.1 Checking Your Understanding 11.11.2 Thinking About the Topics More Deeply 11.11.3 Thinking About Urban Soil Remediation with Your ‘Left Brain’ References Chapter 12: The Future of Urban Soils 12.1 Introduction to the Future of Urban Soils 12.2 Climate Change Effects 12.3 Urban Soils and Biodiversity 12.4 Urban Agriculture and Gardening 12.4.1 Urban Gardening for Food Production and Wellbeing 12.4.2 Urban Forestry 12.4.3 Manufactured Soils 12.5 Water-Sensitive Urban Design 12.6 Soil Contamination 12.6.1 Ongoing and Legacy Contamination and Brownfields 12.6.2 Emerging Contaminants 12.7 Life Cycle Assessment of Soil Remediation 12.8 Urban Soil and Environmental Justice 12.9 Indigenous, Traditional, and Local Soil Knowledge 12.10 Further Reading 12.11 Summary 12.12 Review and Study Questions 12.12.1 Checking Your Understanding 12.12.2 Thinking About the Topics More Deeply 12.12.3 Thinking About Urban Soil Remediation with Your “Left Brain” References Glossary Index