Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, National Parks Board, Singapore, 259569, Singapore.
School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia.
Environ Monit Assess. 2019 Feb 20;191(3):174. doi: 10.1007/s10661-019-7291-9.
Soils in urban landscape act as a component for various ecological functions. For sustainable urban greenery and effective management of urban ecosystems, evaluation of soil quality is of paramount importance. A study was undertaken to assess the existing soil quality and determine spatial soil variability of an exhumed cemetery land in central Singapore, so that systematic and sustainable soil management practices could be implemented for its conversion into an urban park. A stratified sampling method was followed to collect the soil samples from three depths: 0-30, 30-50, and 50-100 cm. An integrated soil quality index (SQI) approach was undertaken to monitor the changes in soil properties. The visual assessment showed the uniformity of horizon distribution of the soil profiles across the park and the soils had acidic pH ([Formula: see text] 5.2) and moderately high bulk density ([Formula: see text] 1.6 g cm). Considering the soil depths, top layer had higher organic carbon content ([Formula: see text] 1.03%) and it was significantly lower in deeper layers ([Formula: see text] 0.71%). Detailed soil analysis results indicated that the soils of the proposed park area were in low fertility status, devoid of macro nutrients (available nitrogen: [Formula: see text] 486.1, phosphorus: [Formula: see text] 8.5 and potassium: [Formula: see text] 9.2 mg kg) and high in iron content ([Formula: see text] 114.8 mg kg), and can be classified as "Ferric Acrisol" (FAO WRB) or "Ultisol" (USDA). The SQI map of total soil (0-100 cm) was different from surface soil, indicating impact of human activities on overall changes in soil quality distribution.
城市景观中的土壤起到多种生态功能的组成部分。为了实现可持续的城市绿化和有效管理城市生态系统，评估土壤质量至关重要。本研究旨在评估新加坡中部一个已挖掘墓地的现有土壤质量和确定土壤空间变异性，以便对其进行系统性和可持续的土壤管理，将其改建成城市公园。研究采用分层采样法，从三个深度（0-30、30-50 和 50-100 cm）采集土壤样本。采用综合土壤质量指数（SQI）方法监测土壤性质的变化。目视评估显示，整个公园的土壤剖面具有均匀的土层分布，土壤呈酸性（pH 值为 5.2），且容重适中（1.6 g/cm3）。就土壤深度而言，表层土壤的有机碳含量（1.03%）较高，而深层土壤的有机碳含量（0.71%）显著较低。详细的土壤分析结果表明，拟议公园区域的土壤肥力较低，缺乏大量养分（有效氮：486.1 mg/kg、磷：8.5 mg/kg 和钾：9.2 mg/kg），且铁含量较高（114.8 mg/kg），可归类为“富铁酸性土”（FAO WRB）或“强淋溶土”（USDA）。总土（0-100 cm）的 SQI 图与表土不同，表明人类活动对土壤质量分布的整体变化有影响。
