Abstract
The assessment of Technosols quality in urban environments is pivotal for the maintenance of ecosystems impacted by human activities. The study was performed on Technosols constructed in experimental mesocosms in the suburban area of Naples (Southern Italy) to highlight changes in the main soil properties over eight years and to identify the most suitable indices at quality monitoring. In this study, several chemical, biological, and integrated indices were analysed to evaluate the mineral accumulation, potential ecological risk, edaphon activity, fertility, and the overall soil quality. The Technosols showed alkaline pH, nitrogen ranged from 24.5 to 39.5 g kg−1, high organic matter contents above 40 g kg−1, and there were no evident processes of soil compaction. Heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) did not exceed the thresholds defined by the Italian law for urban soils, despite their volcanic components. During eight years, the chemical indices depicted changes in the elements balance and increase in ecological risk; the biological indices indicated a reduction in the fungal fraction (fivefold) and in the resources utilisation and carbon storage. The soil quality index with all parameters highlighted the reduction in the soil quality (from 0.78 to 0.65) due to the decrease of the chemical quality, the increase of microbial stress conditions, and changes of the microbial composition, underlining the importance of integrating chemical and biological information for monitoring Technosols.
Highlights
IntroductionSoil quality is a dynamic concept and related to extrinsic factors such as parent material, climate, topography, and hydrology, which can change over time for effective land use or management [1,6]
The urban soils showed a significant increase in pH from 7.47 in samples of 2010 to 8.15 in 2018 and a significant reduction in organic matter content (SOM) ranging from 79.95 to 47 g kg−1, and in C/N ratio ranged from 22.12 to 9.08 in 2010 and 2018 respectively
The continuous anthropogenic impact and the great variability of the urban environment can induce a gradual deterioration of soil quality through the increase of pollutant concentrations, nutrient loss, and the fast organic matter turnover
Summary
Soil quality is a dynamic concept and related to extrinsic factors such as parent material, climate, topography, and hydrology, which can change over time for effective land use or management [1,6]. In this view, the evaluation and the maintenance of soil quality in the urban environments are an important goal to reach because several urban soils are strongly affected by the addition of anthropogenic materials that modify soil native properties [7,8], and uses and ecosystem services that can potentially provide them [9]. Urban soils inglobe several anthropogenic materials and all sorts
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call