ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the potential for soil disturbances and various urban environmental changes to affect soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and fluxes in urban ecosystems. It aims to estimate existing SOC pools in urban ecosystems on regional and global scales and compare these pools to various native ecosystems using the limited data available. The chapter presents data to show how SOC pools vary across different land-use types found in urban landscapes. The conversion of agriculture, forest, and grass lands to urban and suburban land uses results in an array of soil patches that range in condition from natural soil profiles to partially disturbed profiles to “made” and covered soils. Urban environments usually have higher concentrations and depositional fluxes of atmospheric chemicals than rural environments. Urban ecosystems are composed of highly disturbed soils, soils covered by impervious surfaces, made soils, highly managed soils, and relatively natural soils.
