Green infrastructure influences soil health: Biological divergence one year after installation

Buzzard, Vanessa; Gil-Loaiza, Juliana; Grachet, Nathalia Graf; Talkington, Hannah; Youngerman, Connor; Tfaily, Malak M.; Meredith, Laura

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149644

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Our study site is located at a residence in central Tucson, Arizona-with a mean annual temperature of 17 °C and mean annual rainfall is 32.2 cm ( Sheppard et al, 1999 ). In November of 2017, a green infrastructure (GI) water harvesting system was installed by Watershed Management Group Inc. (Tucson, Arizona) at our study site; site pictures and study design are described in ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ). Specifically, three rain garden basins were dug to direct and capture rainwater and a 3,000 gallon plastic rain storage tank was installed to capture rooftop runoff, as described in ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In November of 2017, a green infrastructure (GI) water harvesting system was installed by Watershed Management Group Inc. (Tucson, Arizona) at our study site; site pictures and study design are described in ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ). Specifically, three rain garden basins were dug to direct and capture rainwater and a 3,000 gallon plastic rain storage tank was installed to capture rooftop runoff, as described in ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ). Three GI treatment plots (1 m × 4 m) received different water inputs and sources ( passive stormwater runoff, active irrigated with tank-stored harvested rainwater, and greywater from laundry) along with an unaltered control treatment area that represented the initial, flat pea gravel-lain condition.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three GI treatment plots (1 m × 4 m) received different water inputs and sources ( passive stormwater runoff, active irrigated with tank-stored harvested rainwater, and greywater from laundry) along with an unaltered control treatment area that represented the initial, flat pea gravel-lain condition. All treatments were composed of four 1 m 2 batches within a 4 m by 1 m plot that received limited municipal city irrigation to establish plants and were subjected to the same rainfall, but differed in the inputs and frequency of irrigation from harvested water sources, and the type and depth of the mulch layer as described in ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ). Specifically, the greywater treatment was irrigated with residential laundry water effluent and rain collected in the storage tank.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The onsite rain gauge did not work between the 165 th and 239 th day of the year, and precipitation data from a nearby weather station were used to estimate daily precipitation in the area (“AZMET: The Arizona Meteorological Network: Tucson Station Data Files”, ). In each treatment, we installed soil moisture and temperature sensors (ECH2O 5TE, METER Group, Inc., Pullman, WA, USA) at 12.5 cm belowground in the center of the treatment, connected to data loggers (EM50, METER Group, Inc., Pullman, WA, USA) collecting hourly data from January 2018 to December 2018 ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GI water management practices combined with the natural precipitation patterns in dryland environments impact soil moisture and temperature which directly impact biogeochemical cycling ( Buzzard et al, 2021 ). Rain gardens irrigated with harvested water are common GI techniques that alter the nutrient inputs, and the frequency and quantity of wetting events.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sensitivity of soil hydrogen uptake to natural and managed moisture dynamics in a semiarid urban ecosystem

Buzzard

Thorne

Gil-Loaiza

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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The North American Monsoon season (June–September) in the Sonoran Desert brings thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. These rains bring cooler temperature and account for roughly half of the annual precipitation making them important for biogeochemical processes. The intensity of the monsoon rains also increase flooding in urban areas and rely on green infrastructure (GI) stormwater management techniques such as water harvesting and urban rain gardens to capture runoff. The combination of increased water availability during the monsoon and water management provide a broad moisture regime for testing responses in microbial metabolism to natural and managed soil moisture pulses in drylands. Soil microbes rely on atmospheric hydrogen (H2) as an important energy source in arid and semiarid landscapes with low soil moisture and carbon availability. Unlike mesic ecosystems, transient water availability in arid and semiarid ecosystems has been identified as a key limiting driver of microbe-mediated H2 uptake. We measured soil H2 uptake in rain gardens exposed to three commonly used water harvesting practices during the monsoon season in Tucson AZ, USA. In situ static chamber measurements were used to calculate H2 uptake in each of the three water harvesting treatments passive (stormwater runoff), active (stored rooftop runoff), and greywater (used laundry water) compared to an unaltered control treatment to assess the effects of water management practices on soil microbial activity. In addition, soils were collected from each treatment and brought to the lab for an incubation experiment manipulating the soil moisture to three levels capturing the range observed from field samples. H2 fluxes from all treatments ranged between −0.72 nmol m−2 s−1 and −3.98 nmol m−2 s−1 over the monsoon season. Soil H2 uptake in the greywater treatment was on average 53% greater than the other treatments during pre-monsoon, suggesting that the increased frequency and availability of water in the greywater treatment resulted in higher H2 uptake during the dry season. H2 uptake was significantly correlated with soil moisture (r = −0.393, p = 0.001, df = 62) and temperature (r = 0.345, p = 0.005, df = 62). Our findings suggest that GI managed residential soils can maintain low levels of H2 uptake during dry periods, unlike unmanaged systems. The more continuous H2 uptake associated with GI may help reduce the impacts of drought on H2 cycling in semiarid urban ecosystems.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sensitivity of soil hydrogen uptake to natural and managed moisture dynamics in a semiarid urban ecosystem

Buzzard

Thorne

Gil-Loaiza

et al. 2022

PeerJ

Self Cite

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Relationship Between Soil Microbiome, Edaphic Factors, and Green Technology in Emissions Reduction

Leh-Togi Zobeashia,

Ogu,

Agbalalah

et al. 2024

Soil Microbiome in Green Technology Sustainability

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Nature-based Solutions in Serbia: Implementation of Rain Gardens in the Suburban Community Kać

Greksa,

Blagojević,

Grabić

2023

Environ. Process.

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In recent years, the concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is being accepted as an integrated approach that provides multiple ecosystem services. Serbia is among many European countries with a growing interest for the implementation of the NbS. This paper presents the results of assessment of two rain gardens (RGs) taken as case studies, implemented as some of the rst examples of NbS. The research methodology is based on evaluation of the hydrologic effectiveness through continuous visual inspection during the period after RGs construction in the rst year, second and third year after RGs establishment. Visual inspection involved observations of the basic functions of RGs i.e. ow reduction during storm events, presence of standing water or over ows, time of in ltration, vegetation health and establishment. Mentioned items were monitored in order to understand the performances and test the functionality of RGs due to their further implementation. Findings based on visual assessment showed that: a) both RGs in ltrate runoff during rain and snow events with no presence of standing water after 24 hours and b) rain gardens can reduce peak ows and total ow volume in a short period of time for rainfall depths that are connected with different return periods and ood frequency. The RGs also showed excellent plant growth rate and rapid plant establishment within environmental conditions in the RGs. This study highlights overall good adaptation of RGs under local soil and typical continental climate and contributes to limited research about performances of RGs as NbS in Serbian practice.

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Green infrastructure influences soil health: Biological divergence one year after installation

Cited by 18 publications

References 54 publications

Sensitivity of soil hydrogen uptake to natural and managed moisture dynamics in a semiarid urban ecosystem

Sensitivity of soil hydrogen uptake to natural and managed moisture dynamics in a semiarid urban ecosystem

Relationship Between Soil Microbiome, Edaphic Factors, and Green Technology in Emissions Reduction

Nature-based Solutions in Serbia: Implementation of Rain Gardens in the Suburban Community Kać

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