Vacant lot soil degradation and mowing frequency shape communities of belowground invertebrates and urban spontaneous vegetation

Vacant land in legacy cities is increasingly recognized as a resource to support biodiversity and improve the quality of life for residents. However, the capacity for vacant lot parcels to provide these benefits is influenced by current management practices and landscape legacies of urbanization, wh...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban ecosystems 2021-08, Vol.24 (4), p.737-752
Main Authors: Perry, Kayla I., Hoekstra, Nicole C., Culman, Steve W., Gardiner, Mary M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodegradation
Biodiversity
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Chemical properties
Ecology
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Environmental degradation
Environmental Management
Environmental quality
Forbs
Habitats
Heavy metals
Herbivores
Invertebrates
Life Sciences
Mowing
Nature Conservation
Physical properties
Pollinators
Quality of life
Soil chemistry
Soil contamination
Soil degradation
Soil invertebrates
Soil investigations
Soil properties
Soil quality
Soils
Urban areas
Urban Ecology
Urban planning
Urbanization
Vegetation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Vacant land in legacy cities is increasingly recognized as a resource to support biodiversity and improve the quality of life for residents. However, the capacity for vacant lot parcels to provide these benefits is influenced by current management practices and landscape legacies of urbanization, which typically results in degraded soil quality. The role of soil quality in supporting urban biodiversity and ecosystem functions is often overlooked when developing sustainable urban planning initiatives. This study investigated how soil physical and chemical properties influenced the community of urban spontaneous vegetation and soil invertebrates found within vacant lots mowed monthly or annually in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. We found that soil chemical and physical properties were strong predictors of soil-dwelling invertebrates, as vacant lots highly contaminated with heavy metals had simplified communities. Moreover, increased mowing frequency resulted in greater biomass and blooms of urban spontaneous forbs. Importantly, vacant lots dominated by urban spontaneous forbs and high bloom abundances also were contaminated with heavy metals, with implications for herbivores and pollinators using these resources. Our findings indicate that conservation initiatives must consider landscape legacies from industrial activity and local habitat management practices in order to support above and belowground habitat quality of greenspaces in urban ecosystems. Understanding how soil degradation impacts habitat quality and the delivery of ecosystem services from vacant land is essential for legacy cities to maximize their environmental benefits.
ISSN:1083-8155
1573-1642
DOI:10.1007/s11252-020-01069-0