This is a study of modeling urban environments from TM satellite images. Urban environments are so heterogeneous. It is necessary to simplify them as combinations of basic land cover materials in order to enable quantitative studies. The V-I-S model proposed by Ridd in 1995 is a conceptual model to simplify urban environments as combination of three basic ground components: vegetation, impervio...

Construction in urban areas usually results in compacted soil, which restricts plant growth and infiltration. Nutrients may be lost in storm runoff water and sediment. The purpose of this study was to determine if existing lawns benefit from aeration and surface compost additions without the negative impact of nutrient loss in runoff. Four sets of lawns were compared, with or without compost pl...

Urbanization-associated land use and land cover (LULC) changes lead to modifications of surface microclimatic and hydrological conditions, including the formation of urban heat islands and changes in surface runoff pattern. The goal of the paper is to investigate the changes of biophysical variables due to urbanization induced LULC changes in Indianapolis, USA, from 2001 to 2006. The biophysica...

As a promising application, quantitative remote sensing of urban heat island (UHI) could facilitate our understanding of urban/suburban environment and its relationship with urbanization. This paper investigates the urban heat island effect of Lanzhou, China, a densely built up city in a valley, based on Landsat ETM+ image acquired on April 22, 2000, whose spatial resolution is sufficient for m...

Urban planning is associated with land transformation from natural areas to modified and developed ones which leads to modification of natural environment. The basic knowledge of relationship between both should be ascertained before proceeding for the development of natural areas. Changes on land surface due to build up pavements, roads and similar land cover, affect surface water flow. There ...

Recent monitoring shows that the majority of urban streams in the United States are contaminated by pesticide residues, and the contamination is mainly due to runoff from residential landscapes. In this study we evaluated the effect of landscape planting on persistence of the herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba in soil under laboratory conditions. The herbicides exhibited substantially different persi...

Installation of impervious surfaces in urban areas has attracted increasing attention due to its potential hazard to urban ecosystems. Urban soils are suggested to have robust carbon (C) sequestration capacity; however, the C stocks and dynamics in the soils covered by impervious surfaces that dominate urban areas are still not well characterized. We compared soil organic C (SOC) densities and ...

Introduction: Urban soils are large pools of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements, supporting plant growth, sustaining biogeochemical cycles, and serving as the foundation for maintaining ecosystem function and services of urban green spaces (UGS). Quantifying urban soil properties is essential for assessing urban ecosystem services and detecting pollution. Characterizing spatial heterogeneity ...

In many parts of the world, urban planning has a renewed focus on addressing the multiple challenges associated with population growth and climate change. Focused on local needs and priorities, these planning processes are raising tensions between more compact and dense urban form to reduce energy use and associated emissions and the provision of urban green infrastructure for ecosystem service...

[1] A reduction in surface water quality in urban watersheds due to nonpoint source phosphorus (P) loading has prompted municipalities to consider management practices to reduce P loss from landscapes. However, locating P source areas can be time consuming and expensive. Use of distributed models allows delineation of P source areas and focused management strategies. Using the spatially distrib...