Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 39(6): November 2013 Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2013. 39(6): 249–255 249 Determining Variability in Characteristics of Residential Landscape Soils that Influences Infiltration Rates Brian J. Pearson, Richard C. Beeson, Jr., Carrie Reinhart-Adams, Michael Olexa, and Amy Shober retention, and pore size distribution. Most lots (90%) contained sandy soil dominated by micropores (58% total mean pore space). Variability of Db was low with most communities exhibiting high soil compaction (>1.7 g cm-3 soil infiltration rates among communities were high (11 to 64 cm hr-1 retention volumes, Db infiltration rates and soil characteristics were poor (r2 ), with large variations (2.0 to 111.1 cm hr-1 ), which may indicate potential plant root penetration concerns. Mean ). Correlations between soil moisture , and infiltration rate did not occur. However, soil texture was a significant predictor of infiltration rate. Relationships between = 0.43) and suggest direct measurement of infiltration rate may be necessary. High infiltration rates, despite compaction, indicate reduced potential for surface water contamination if a sufficient natural fetch separates landscapes from water bodies. Key Words. Bulk Density; Compaction; Florida; Residential; Sandy Soil; Soil Moisture; Storm Water; Urban Soil. Abstract. Although composed mostly of sand, observations of new urban residential communities in Florida suggested relatively wide ranges in clay content and importation of offsite soils. Often these communities are constructed around surface water where heavy summer rains and intense landscape maintenance present concerns for surface water contamination. Due to land sculpturing, soil compaction and importation; onsite soil physical properties may differ from soil maps developed decades before. How much change and what changes occurred has seldom been quantified. This study examined soil characteristic data from diverse, newly constructed urban soils and examined relationships with soil infiltration rates. Samples were collected from 40 lots in nine newly established urban residential communities within Central Florida to quantify textural composition, bulk density (Db ), moisture (from 1.34 to 1.49 g cm-3 Urban residential population growth requires construc- tion of roads, homes, and supporting infrastructure. Con- struction activities impact soil characteristics and often result in increased soil compaction, restricted aeration, and decreased water infiltration (Craul 1985). Although impacts of construction activities on soil characteristics are well un- derstood, few studies have quantified soil characteristics in newly established urban residential landscapes (Craul 1991). Compaction of urban residential landscape soil can be unin- tentional and a result of heavy equipment usage and site traffic, or deliberate to strengthen soils for engineered loads (Randrup and Dralle 1997). Soil compaction reduces soil porosity, result- ing in reduced aeration, decreased drainage and water holding capacity (Craul 1985). Randrup and Dralle (1997) examined unintentional soil compaction within newly constructed com- mercial and residential sites and found that subsoil (0.4 to 0.8 m below soil surface) compaction was 8% greater in developed areas than undeveloped control locations. A similar study in Florida, U.S. examined the influence of residential construc- tion on soil hydrology, and determined construction activities reduced infiltration rates by 80% and 99% in front and back portions of a developed lot, respectively (Gregory et al. 2006). Heavy equipment usage increased mean soil bulk density (Db ) in mean infiltration rates (from 73.3 to 17.8 cm hr-1 ), causing corresponding decreases ). Florida soils are primarily dominated by sand particle size fractions (Brown et al. 1990). High bulk density (>1.75 g cm-3 ) can negatively impact plant root growth in sand-dominated soils (Daddow and Warrington 1983; Voorhees 1992). Reductions in soil macroporosity as a result of soil compaction leads to a restriction in soil water and air movement (Tuli and Hopmans 2004; Tuli et al. 2005). Low soil water infiltration rates may contribute to urban stormwater discharge during intense precipi- tation events, thus allowing for overland nutrient transport and water quality degradation (Brett et al. 2005; Atasoy et al. 2006). Protective surface treatments can be used to reduce unin- tentional traffic-induced soil compaction during construction (Lichter and Lindsey 1994). However, this method has proven limited in effectively preventing soil compaction (Randrup and Dralle 1997). Techniques used to ameliorate soil compaction can be undertaken, although available methods are not universally effective (Day and Bassuk 1994). Randrup and Dralle (1997) pro- posed division of zones within construction areas to minimize soil compaction. Zoning would eliminate traffic in future plant- ing areas and represents the best option to minimize compaction. Studies that have examined soil bulk density (Pitt et al. 1999; Gregory et al. 2006), organic matter (Beyer et al. 1995; Scharenbroch et al. 2005), and microbial biomass (Lorenz and Kandeler 2006) in urban areas are available; however, few studies have specifically quantified urban soil characteristics within a broad range of newly constructed urban residen- tial communities. Quantification of soil characteristics within these unique environments is needed to better understand the environmental impacts associated with urban construc- ©2013 International Society of Arboriculture
November 2013
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