Abstract
Six forest locations were chosen from urban (U) and semi-urban (SU) zones of Sofia, Bulgaria. Soil profiles characterised for their generic physico-chemical properties: particle size distribution, pH, C-content (%) and N-content (%). From the ratio silt/clay and C/N, significant differences were observed for the Ah horizon in the urban and semi-urban locations. Clay formation appeared to be reduced in this horizon in the urban soils and the C-content is higher in semi-urban soils in comparison with the urban soils. On the base of the results obtained, a reduction of the buffering capability is noted for the topsoil of the urban sites compared to the semi-urban sites.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beyer L, Kahle P, Kretschmer H, Wu Q (2001). Soil organic matter composition of man-impacted urban sites in North Germany. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 164:359–364
FAO, ISSS, ISRIC (1994) World reference base for soil resources. Wageningen, Rome, p. 161
FAO-UNESCO (1991) World soil resources. An explanatory note on the FAO World Resources Map at 1: 25 000 000 scale. Rome, p. 58
Hursthouse AS, Tognarelli D, Tucker P, Marsan FA, Martini C, Madrid L (2004) A pilot study of the metal content of surface soils in parks and allotments from three European Cities. Land Contamin Reclam 12(3):189–196
Kabata-Pendias A, Pendias H (1992) Trace elements in soils and plants, 2nd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, p. 365
Lorenz K, Kandeler E (2005) Biochemical characterisation of urban soil profiles from Stuttgart, Germany. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1373–1385
Markiewicz-Patkowska J, Hursthouse A, Przybyla-Kij H (2005) The interaction of heavy metals with urban soils: sorption behaviour of Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn with a typical mixed brownfield deposit. Environ Int 31:513–521
Niemelä J, Kotze J, Ashworth A, Brandmayr P, Desender K, New T, Penev L, Samways M, Spence J (2000) The search for common anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity: a global network. J Insect Conserv 4:3–9
Rosenbaum MS, McMillan AA, Powell JH, Cooper AH, Culshaw MG, Northmore KD (2003) Classification of artificial (man-made) ground. Eng Geol 69:399–409
Scharenbroch BC, Lloyd JE, Johnson-Maynard JL (1995) Distinguishing urban soils with physical, chemical and biological properties. Pedobiologia 49:283–296
Simpson T (1996) Urban soils. In: McCall GJH, De Mulder EFJ, Marker BR (ed) Urban geoscience. pp. 35–60
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Doichinova, V., Zhiyanski, M. & Hursthouse, A. Impact of urbanisation on soil characteristics. Environ Chem Lett 3, 160–163 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-005-0024-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-005-0024-z