A simple method to assess flood regulation supply in urban lawns

Abstract

Floods have an important impact on life and loss of goods. Urban green spaces are crucial to mitigating flood impact. However, their capacity to prevent floods depends on their condition, especially in areas highly affected by human activities such as lawns. Here, we developed a simple method to assess flood regulation using soil penetration resistance as a proxy and tested it on an urban lawn in Vilnius (Lithuania) in winter. We developed an experimental design using an app for collecting data and working with it in a GIS environment. To understand their spatial relations, geostatistical (e.g., semi-variogram model and ordinary kriging mapping) and spatial statistics ((Moran's global autocorrelation index and Cluster and Outlier Analysis (Anselin Local Moran's I)) tools were applied. The preliminary results from the tested method showed that the lawn studied has different capacities to retain floods due to the management practices. Nevertheless, it is essential to be applied in different soil moisture conditions since flood regulation (soil penetration resistance) can be variable throughout the year.•A novel method was developed to estimate flood regulation using soil penetration resistance as a proxy;•An urban lawn was used to test the method and identify areas with low and high capacity for flood regulation;•The method quickly assesses lawn flood retention capacity in different environments.