Soil carbon sequestration in urban afforestation sites in New York City

Downey, Alisen E.; Groffman, P. M.; Mejía, Gisselle A.; Cook, Elizabeth M.; Sritrairat, S.; Karty, Richard; Palmer, Matthew I.; McPhearson, Timon

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127342

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Among the high success sites, both Pelham Bay Park and Marine Park 3 had higher soil N concentrations, which is consistent with significantly higher soil C concentrations (Downey et al, 2021), and a more developed canopy and litter layer of trees planted suggesting higher forest productivity. This relationship between C and N cycling supports the idea that strong plant-soil feedbacks drive afforestation success.…”

Section: N Availability As a Driver Of Ecosystem Developmentsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…Canarsie and Alley Pond had the lowest N content and were the least successful of our study sites; nearly all trees and shrubs planted at these two sites did not survive (Cook et al, in progress;Downey et al, 2021). As a result, both sites were replanted after the first two years of poor survivorship (Cook et al, in progress;Downey et al, 2021). The Canarsie site had noticeable signs of mowing in some plots, and other plots were overgrown with Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris; Appendix S2: Figure S3).…”

Section: N Availability As a Driver Of Ecosystem Developmentmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Marine Park 3 site had very high NO 3 − pools and microbial biomass C compared with other afforestation sites in this and other studies in NYC (Oldfield et al, 2014; Pierre et al, 2016). Undocumented mulch and/or compost application may have played a role at this site (Downey et al, 2021). The Fort Totten site had notably high basal respiration (CO 2 production) that may have been caused by large quantities of woody and leaf litter and a well developed herbaceous layer at this site (Appendix S2: Figure S1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Canarsie site had noticeable signs of mowing in some plots, and other plots were overgrown with Mugwort ( Artemisia vulgaris ; Appendix S2: Figure S3). Similarly, Clearview was heavily overgrown with Mugwort ( Artemisia vulgaris ; Appendix S2: Figure S3) and showed evidence of active dumping (Cook et al, in progress; Downey et al, 2021). Preplanting site preparation at some sites may have also involved herbicide application and removal of woody invasive tree species, such as Acer platanoides , which is common in restoration efforts (Simmons et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the proximity of this site to coastal waters, the potential for denitrification is important because this process prevents NO 3 À transport to coastal ecosystems where it is a prime cause of eutrophication (Conley et al, 2009;Rosenzweig et al, 2018). Canarsie and Alley Pond had the lowest N content and were the least successful of our study sites; nearly all trees and shrubs planted at these two sites did not survive (Cook et al, in progress;Downey et al, 2021). As a result, both sites were replanted after the first two years of poor survivorship (Cook et al, in progress;Downey et al, 2021).…”

Section: N Availability As a Driver Of Ecosystem Developmentmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Nitrogen cycling and urban afforestation success inNew York City

Mejía

Groffman

Downey

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Afforestation projects are a growing focus of urban restoration efforts to rehabilitate degraded landscapes and develop new forests. Urban forests provide myriad valuable ecosystem services essential for urban sustainability and resilience. These essential services are supported by natural soil microbial processes that transform organic matter to critical nutrients for plant community establishment and development. Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient in forest ecosystems, yet little information is known about N cycling in urban afforestation efforts. This study examined microbially mediated processes of carbon (C) and N cycling in 10 experimental afforested sites established across New York City parklands under the MillionTreesNYC initiative. Long-term research plots were established between 2009 and 2011 at each site with low and high diversity (two vs. six tree species) treatments. In 2018, 1-m soil cores were collected from plots at each site and analyzed for microbial biomass and respiration, potential net N mineralization, and nitrification, denitrification potential, soil inorganic N, and total soil N. Field observations revealed markedly different trajectories between sites that exhibited a closed canopy and leaf litter layer derived from trees that were planted and those that did not fit this description. These two metrics served to group sites into two categories (high vs. low) of afforestation success. We hypothesized that: (1) afforestation success would be correlated with rates of C and N cycling, (2) high diversity restoration techniques would affect these processes, and (3) inherent soil properties interact with plants and environmental conditions to affect the development of these processes over time. We found that high success sites had significantly higher rates of C and N cycling processes, but low and high diversity treatments showed no differences. Low success sites were more likely to have disturbed soil profiles with human-derived debris. Afforestation success appears to be driven by interactions between initial site conditions that facilitate plant community establishment and development that in turn enable N accumulation and cycling, creating positive feedbacks for success.

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Section: N Availability As a Driver Of Ecosystem Developmentsupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: N Availability As a Driver Of Ecosystem Developmentmentioning

confidence: 89%