Topic 2.1: Urban Soils

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Content

Urban Soils


Now that we have dashed through how trees function, what they require to thrive in urban environments as well as what these environments demand from trees, we can move towards solutions!

A sustainable urban forest is balancing competing needs and interactions, negotiating the give and take between our demands on resources and the environment. This concept is also about keeping our resources on the landscape, over the long term, with threats and risks to a minimum. Sustainability is an approach that requires an understanding of a given site, its constraints over the long term as well as ways in which we can intervene to mitigate or, if possible, eliminate those constraints over time. This is an exercise that requires extensive planning and monitoring. The investment we spend on setting the site up for success, will save us the effort intervening and replacing trees frequently, in perpetuity.

Cultivating a sustainable urban forest starts with tending to its foundation, the soil.

As a medium that supports plant life, healthy and productive soils provide ecosystem services to our communities. This week, we look at urban soils as an integrated system, supporting life and responding to environmental factors. We will investigate ways in which an environmentally conscious approach can transition planning and implementation from a "hardscape centric" approach to a holistic approach where urban trees and vegetation are considered.

This week's reading will discuss a sustainable approach to managing urban soils and rehabilitating urban sites. We will enrich are perspective with the expertise of Dr. Susan Day, who co-wrote this week's readings and who will be joining us for this week's lecture to present some projects.

This week's optional reading, is a resource that you can take with you to your community. You will find a Soil Profile Rebuilding specification Links to an external site., a holistic practical technique for rehabilitating compacted urban soils, on site.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
    •   Recognize the importance of quality soils for supporting healthy urban forests
    •   Explain the components that contribute to healthy soils (aggregates, pH, organic matter, texture)
    •   Identify and explain the ways in which soils can be damaged in the urban environment
    •   Identify ways in which professionals can mitigate urban soil disturbances

UFOR 521, M. Hanna