Urban soils, which are situated inside urban area, are of growing scientific and practical interest as the urbanisation of the world accelerates. Urban soils differ from non-urban soils in the origin of parent materials which are often technogenic substrates, in the dynamic of pedogenetic processes which are influenced by anthropogenic disturbances, and by the balance between input and output of constituents, water and nutrients. Urban soils provide ecosystem services in watersheds that provide drinking water, in areas which are used for food production, industrial production, waste treatment, cultural life and recreation. In urban open spaces, soils offer specific urban habitats for vegetation and fauna leading to a comparable high biodiversity inside human settlements. In addition, these open spaces and every urban soil play an important role for the health of the urban system.
The management of urban soils, their use, their conservation and their remediation demand for systematic scientific investigation of these soils, their functions and development. It is the goal of that multidisciplinary session to contribute to a better understanding of urban soils and urban ecosystems.
We invite contributions on the:
• Chemistry and physical properties of urban soils and technogenic substrates;
• Genesis of urban soils;
• New mapping approaches;
• Soils – plant - relations in urban areas;
• Various interactions between urban geochemistry, urban water cycle and urban atmosphere all affecting the urban soils.
• Soil contaminations and population health in urban areas.