TY - JOUR
T1 - Soil, climate, and landscape drivers of base cation concentrations in green stormwater infrastructure soils
AU - Lam, Duyen
AU - Zhang, Kun
AU - Parolari, Anthony J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2024/3/1
Y1 - 2024/3/1
N2 - Deicing practices and infrastructure weathering can impact plants, soil, and water quality through the input and transport of base cations. Base cation accumulation in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) soils has the potential to decrease soil infiltration rates and plant water uptake or to promote leaching of metals and nutrients. To understand base cation retention in GSI soils and its drivers, we sampled 14 GSI soils of different age, contributing areas, and infiltration areas, across 3 years. We hypothesized that soil, climate, and landscape drivers explain the spatial and temporal variability of GSI soil base cation concentrations. Sodium (Na), Calcium (Ca), and Magnesium (Mg) concentrations in GSI soils were higher than in reference soils, while Ca and Mg were similar to an urban floodplain soil. Neither the contributing area, contributing impervious area, nor their ratios to infiltration area predicted base cation concentrations. Age predicted the spatial variability of Potassium (K) concentrations. Ca and Mg were moderately predicted by sand and silt, while clay predicted Mg, and sand predicted K. However, no soil characteristics predicted Na concentrations. A subset of sites had elevated Na in Fall 2019, which followed a winter with many freezing events and higher-than-average deicer salt application. K in sites with elevated Na was lower than in non-elevated sites, suggesting that transient spikes of Na driven by deicer salt decreased the ability of GSI soils to accumulate K. These findings demonstrate the large variability of GSI soil base cation concentrations and the relative importance of soil, climate, and landscape drivers of base cation dynamics. High variability in GSI soil data is commonly observed and further research is needed to reduce uncertainties for modeling studies and design. Improved understanding of how GSI soil properties evolve over time, and their relation to GSI performance, will benefit GSI design and maintenance practices.
AB - Deicing practices and infrastructure weathering can impact plants, soil, and water quality through the input and transport of base cations. Base cation accumulation in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) soils has the potential to decrease soil infiltration rates and plant water uptake or to promote leaching of metals and nutrients. To understand base cation retention in GSI soils and its drivers, we sampled 14 GSI soils of different age, contributing areas, and infiltration areas, across 3 years. We hypothesized that soil, climate, and landscape drivers explain the spatial and temporal variability of GSI soil base cation concentrations. Sodium (Na), Calcium (Ca), and Magnesium (Mg) concentrations in GSI soils were higher than in reference soils, while Ca and Mg were similar to an urban floodplain soil. Neither the contributing area, contributing impervious area, nor their ratios to infiltration area predicted base cation concentrations. Age predicted the spatial variability of Potassium (K) concentrations. Ca and Mg were moderately predicted by sand and silt, while clay predicted Mg, and sand predicted K. However, no soil characteristics predicted Na concentrations. A subset of sites had elevated Na in Fall 2019, which followed a winter with many freezing events and higher-than-average deicer salt application. K in sites with elevated Na was lower than in non-elevated sites, suggesting that transient spikes of Na driven by deicer salt decreased the ability of GSI soils to accumulate K. These findings demonstrate the large variability of GSI soil base cation concentrations and the relative importance of soil, climate, and landscape drivers of base cation dynamics. High variability in GSI soil data is commonly observed and further research is needed to reduce uncertainties for modeling studies and design. Improved understanding of how GSI soil properties evolve over time, and their relation to GSI performance, will benefit GSI design and maintenance practices.
KW - Base cations
KW - Ecohydrology
KW - Green infrastructure
KW - Soil chemistry
KW - Stormwater management
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169907
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85182519213&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85182519213&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169907
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169907
M3 - Article
C2 - 38185164
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 914
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 169907
ER -