The potential for biosolids products to reduce Pb availability in soil was tested on a high Pb urban soil with biosolids from a treatment plant that used different processing technologies. High Fe biosolids compost and high Fe + lime biosolids compost from other treatment plants were also tested. Amendments were added to a Pb-contaminated soil (2000 mg kg(-1) Pb) at 100 g kg(-1) soil and incuba...

Soil pH may influence speciation and extractability of Pb, depending on type of vegetation in urban soil environments. We investigated the relationship between soil pH and Pb extractability at forest and turf grass sites in Baltimore, Maryland. Our two hypotheses were: (1) due to lower pH values in forest soils, more Pb will be in exchangeable forms in forested than in turfgrass soils and (2) d...

To secure adequate food supply is the major challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Growing world population andits urbanization put pressure on this basic need, which is further threatened by the constant loss of fertile land. Theassessment of sustainability of food supply under increasing pressure on land resources has been selected as one of themost important priority topics ...

Organochlorine pesticide (OCP) cycling was studied in the area of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, over 3 days in summer with high temporal (4 h-means) and spatial (3 sites distanced 3-6 km) resolutions. Elevated levels of DDX compounds (i.e. o,p'- and p,p'-isomers of DDT, DDE and DDD, 44-74 pg m(-3) at the urban sites and 27 pg m(-3) as a background level), HCH (α-, β- and γ-isomers, 52-70 ...

Urban areas typically have a high degree of impervious surfaces— that is, roads, parking lots, rooftops, and other surfaces that impede the movement of water into the soil. In predevelopment areas with natural ground cover, over half of precipitation infiltrates the soil to replenish groundwater tables, and only a small amount (10%) remains as runoff into stormwater systems, rivers, and lakes. ...

Soil is a vital parameter for planting design in urban green spaces especially in adverse climate conditions. In this study, the utilization of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in surveying land suitability for urban green space from measured criteria like suitability indices, including physical (i.e. clay, silt, sand, bulk density, penetration resistance), chemical (i.e. electrical conductivit...

With rapid urban growth in recent years, understanding urban biophysical composition and dynamics becomes an important research topic. Remote sensing technologies introduce a potentially scientific basis for examining urban composition and monitoring its changes over time. The vegetation–impervious surface–soil (V–I–S) model, in particular, provides a foundation for describing urban/suburban en...

Detailed remote sensing of urban environments has been limited due to the poor spatial resolution of most satellite-based instruments and low demand from city officials and scientists. As many of the world’s arid region urban centers continue to expand, the need to monitor urban land cover change and its impact on the surrounding environment becomes critical. The growth of urban ecology as an i...