Black carbon in urban soils: land use and climate drive variation at the surface.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Black carbon (BC) encompasses a range of carbonaceous materials--including soot, char, and charcoal--derived from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. Urban soils can become enriched in BC due to proximity to these combustion sources. We conducted a literature review of BC in urban soils globally and found 26 studies reporting BC and total organic carbon (TOC) content collected to a maximum of 578 cm depth in urban soils across 35 cities and 10 countries. We recorded data on city, climate, and land use/land cover characteristics to examine drivers of BC content and contribution to TOC in soil.

Results

All studies were conducted in the northern hemisphere, with 68% of the data points collected in China and the United States. Surface samples (0-20 

SUBMITTER: Burke M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10908174 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature