Copper is used as an antimicrobial agent in building materials such as algae-resistant roofing shingles and treated wood products for decks, fences, and utility poles used in urbanized areas. Releases from these materials may pose risks to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Copper exposures in surface water, sediment, and soil were estimated for a hypothetical urban setting using the TREX water...

Agricultural soil is typically an important component of urban ecosystems, contributing directly or indirectly to the general quality of human life. To understand which factors influence metal accumulation in agricultural soils in urban ecosystems is becoming increasingly important. Land use, soil type and urbanization indicators all account for considerable differences in metal accumulation in...

An urban survey of Lisbon, the largest city in Portugal, was carried out to investigate its environmental burden, emphasizing metallic elements and their public health impacts. This paper examines the geochemistry of lead (Pb) and its influence on human health data. A total of 51 soil samples were collected from urban recreational areas used by children to play outdoors. The semi-quantitative a...

Extensive spatial and temporal surveys, over 15 years, have been conducted in soil in urban parks and street dusts in one of the most polluted cities in western Europe, Avilés (NW Spain). The first survey was carried out in 1996, and since then monitoring has been undertaken every five years. Whilst the sampling site is a relatively small town, industrial activities (mainly the steel industry a...

Understanding the spatial distribution of soil lead has been a focus of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study since its inception in 1997. Through multiple research projects that span spatial scales and use different methodologies, three overarching patterns have been identified: (1) soil lead concentrations often exceed state and federal regulatory limits; (2) the variability of soil lead concentratio...

Recent research has shown the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan region to be characterized by a CO2 dome that peaks near the urban center. The CO2 levels, 50% greater than the surrounding non-urban areas, have been attributed to anthropogenic sources and the physical geography of the area. We quantified sources of CO2 emissions across the metropolitan region. Anthropogenic CO2 emission data were obtaine...

The level of land consumption for housing and transport contrasts sharply with both the necessity and the legal obligation to maintain the ecological potential afforded by open spaces to meet the needs of current and future generations in terms of resource protection and climate change. Owing to the increasing intensity of soil usage, in many urban landscapes the soil conditions has deteriorate...

This paper demonstrates an integrated method for studying cropland loss dynamics and the resultant impacts on sustainable development spanning the past 10 years (1996–2006) in response to rampant urban growth. This study deploys remote sensing to obtain accurate measures of cropland change information and applies GIS to examine the spatio-temporal trajectory of cropland loss. Coupled with lands...

[1] Effective control of nonpoint source contaminants in runoff from urbanized watersheds requires knowledge about the locations of runoff source areas under a variety of conditions. Physical monitoring of spatially variant processes, such as runoff production form variable source areas, is time-consuming and expensive. Thus modeling the processes may provide a valuable cost-effective alternati...

Title of Thesis: THE EFFECTS OF CO2 AND TEMPERATURE ON THE SOIL MICROBIAL CARBON AND NITROGEN OF URBAN AND RURAL FORESTS Elizabeth Kulka, Master of Science, 2015 Thesis Directed By: Professor Marla S. McIntosh Department of Plant Science This study investigated and compared the effects of elevated temperature and elevated CO2 on the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) of urban and...