Soil Characteristics and Management Practices for Urban Residential Landscapes

Figure 2. Soil erosion caused by stormwater runoff. Credits: Brian PearsonNewly constructed urban residential landscape soils sampled within Central Florida are dominated by large sand particles and possess low soil moisture retention. Therefore, irrigation and fertilizer applications should be managed to match site conditions and prevent overapplication of water and nutrient leaching. Sampled soils in newly developed urban residential communities were found to be highly compacted and likely to inhibit plant establishment and growth. This 3-page fact sheet was written by Brian J. Pearson, and published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, July 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep479

Urban Soils in Gainesville, Florida and Their Implications for Environmental Quality and Management (FOR275/FR337)

It is frequently assumed that urban soils are homogenous, heavily disturbed, or of low fertility. But recent studies show that urban soils are highly variable, ranging from highly modified to nearly undisturbed. Still, there are observable trends and patterns in urban soil characteristics have been observed. This 6-page fact sheet sheds light on how and why soil properties vary across Gainesville and provides useful information on the sustainable management of urban soils. It was written by Donald Hagan, Cynnamon Dobbs, Francisco Escobedo, Wayne Zipperer, and Zoltan Szantoi, and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation, November 2010.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr337