ABSTRACT

This chapter provides a conceptual model summarizing the major direct and indirect anthropogenic drivers of urban soil carbon (C) dynamics and provides an in-depth discussion of how these drivers influence C stabilization and storage within the soil environment. While urban soils experience unique anthropogenic influences, proximate controls on soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization and cycling are universal. The contemporary view of SOM stabilization and long-term storage suggests that microbial ecology, environmental conditions, and the physical complexity of the soil matrix are controlling drivers. The chapter introduces a conceptual model of urban SOC accumulation that illustrates this new paradigm shift in long-term soil C accumulation and stabilization, represents short-term decomposition as controlled by organic matter (OM) inputs to soil and long-term soil C stabilization as mediated by microbial community activity. Soil characteristics and microbial activity are important determinants of soil C dynamics in highly managed urban systems.