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Dog-park soils: Concentration and distribution of urine-borne constituents

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Abstract

Off-leash dog parks are very popular locations that allow pets to freely exercise and eliminate wastes in a controlled environment. Although dog park rules require that solid waste be removed by the pet’s owner, urine-borne constituents in dog-park soils have received little attention. This study focused on the soils within two small-dog, off-leash dog parks in Fargo, North Dakota (USA) with the objective to better understand the concentration and distribution of extractable NH4-N, NO3-N, PO4, soluble salts, and pH values in surface soils (0–10 cm) within these two dog parks. Concentrations of soil variables varied widely within each park and were distributed as both gradient and ‘hot-spots.’ The geospatial model types for each soil parameter were more dependent on park than on the constituents themselves. Flow accumulation was correlated with both nitrate-N and P but due to the lack of topography at these parks the flow accumulation was not helpful in describing most of the soil constituents. The results from this project indicate that location of parks, daily/annual use of parks, flow accumulation, and location of park entries may all influence the concentration and distribution of urine-borne constituents.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Kevin Horsager and Nathan Derby for their technical expertise. Drs. DeSutter and Norland would also like to thank our coauthors, all of whom are graduate students that were enrolled in SOIL 721: Environmental Field Instrumentation and Sampling, for their dedication and willingness to complete this experiential learning exercise. The graduate student coauthors would like to thank Drs. DeSutter and Norland for this educational opportunity as well as their patience and guidance throughout the process.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resource Sciences, Range Science Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Breanna Paradeis

  2. School of Natural Resource Sciences, Department of Soil Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Sarah Lovas, Mikayla Boche, Yangbo He & Katie Chambers

  3. Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Andrew Aipperspach, Angela Kazmierczak & Yang Gao

  4. School of Natural Resource Sciences, Natural Resources Management Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Patrick Corrigan & Jack Norland

  5. Department of Soil Science, North Dakota State University, 214 Walster Hall, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Tom DeSutter

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  1. Breanna Paradeis
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  2. Sarah Lovas
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  8. Katie Chambers
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  10. Jack Norland
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  11. Tom DeSutter
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Correspondence to Tom DeSutter.

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Paradeis, B., Lovas, S., Aipperspach, A. et al. Dog-park soils: Concentration and distribution of urine-borne constituents. Urban Ecosyst 16, 351–365 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-012-0264-1

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