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Anthropogenic Soils in Urban Settings

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Anthropogenic Soils

Part of the book series: Progress in Soil Science ((PROSOIL))

Abstract

Anthropogenic soils found in urban areas vary as a function of land use and city structure. They are primarily classified as Technosols, the central concept of which is a soil formed in HTM characterized by an abundance of technogenic artifacts. Urban soils in residential areas are Urbic Technosols characterized by artifacts indicative of human habitation, whereas those associated with industrial land are Spolic Technosols with an artifact assemblage comprised of industrial wastes. Urban soils typically have an ^Au-^Cu profile, although cambic-like horizons may form in 18– 70 years. They are characteristically heterogeneous and often suffer from excessive compaction, excessive artifact content, diminished biological activity, and reduced infiltration due to surface crusting or water repellency. They generally have elevated levels of pH, exchangeable bases, and carbonate content, but levels of organic C, N and P tend to be very low in recently deposited HTM. Melanization results in the formation of ^A horizons in as little as 12 years under an udic moisture regime with a cover of grass. Under such conditions, urban soils are resilient and may reestablish properties similar to those of natural soils in 30–100 years.

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  1. Department of Geology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Jeffrey Howard

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Correspondence to Jeffrey Howard .

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Howard, J. (2017). Anthropogenic Soils in Urban Settings. In: Anthropogenic Soils. Progress in Soil Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54331-4_10

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