Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City

Until now, the contribution of soils in urban spaces has been underestimated and, as a result, the services they provide have been severely undervalued in urban planning. This article aims to address this issue through a study of Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. We provide two methodological proposa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Helena Cotler, Silke Cram, Blanca Prado, Victor Peña, Lilian Lucio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-11-01
Series:Spanish Journal of Soil Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2024.13398/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850146288640720896
author Helena Cotler
Silke Cram
Blanca Prado
Victor Peña
Lilian Lucio
author_facet Helena Cotler
Silke Cram
Blanca Prado
Victor Peña
Lilian Lucio
author_sort Helena Cotler
collection DOAJ
description Until now, the contribution of soils in urban spaces has been underestimated and, as a result, the services they provide have been severely undervalued in urban planning. This article aims to address this issue through a study of Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. We provide two methodological proposals for the analysis of soil ecosystem services characterized by the interaction of natural and anthropic processes: the morpho-pedological landscapes (MpL), in which we quantify soil carbon sequestration (SOC Mg ha−1) and the comparison of two methods for the analysis of hydraulic conductivity: Pedotransfer functions (PTF) and direct measurement with a double ring infiltrometer. Among the 12 MpL, we found the highest SOC content in slopes with mixed tree vegetation and Phaeozem soils. However, SOC retention decreased by 40%–50% due to sealing surfaces. For infiltration measures, despite the diversity of soils and vegetation, direct measurements values are highly homogeneous, while values calculated using PTFs better reflect the morphopedological landscape heterogeneity. In all the MpLs, the hydraulic conductivity was higher than the maximum rainfall intensity report, indicating that the soils in Chapultepec Park, despite the differences in soils and intensity of use, provide the ecosystem service of infiltration. These results would allow the establishment of a baseline for monitoring these services and provide information to decision makers and urban planners seeking to reduce the construction of gray infrastructure that seals soils and reduces their capacity to provide these ecosystem services.
format Article
id doaj-art-66a4f85a5741424e834e6db2db37db14
institution OA Journals
issn 2253-6574
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Spanish Journal of Soil Science
spelling doaj-art-66a4f85a5741424e834e6db2db37db142025-08-20T02:27:53ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Spanish Journal of Soil Science2253-65742024-11-011410.3389/sjss.2024.1339813398Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico CityHelena Cotler0Silke Cram1Blanca Prado2Victor Peña3Lilian Lucio4Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de Información Geoespacial, Mexico City, MexicoInstituto de Geografia, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, MexicoInstituto de Geografia, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, MexicoInstituto de Geologia, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City, MexicoInstituto de Geografia, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, MexicoUntil now, the contribution of soils in urban spaces has been underestimated and, as a result, the services they provide have been severely undervalued in urban planning. This article aims to address this issue through a study of Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. We provide two methodological proposals for the analysis of soil ecosystem services characterized by the interaction of natural and anthropic processes: the morpho-pedological landscapes (MpL), in which we quantify soil carbon sequestration (SOC Mg ha−1) and the comparison of two methods for the analysis of hydraulic conductivity: Pedotransfer functions (PTF) and direct measurement with a double ring infiltrometer. Among the 12 MpL, we found the highest SOC content in slopes with mixed tree vegetation and Phaeozem soils. However, SOC retention decreased by 40%–50% due to sealing surfaces. For infiltration measures, despite the diversity of soils and vegetation, direct measurements values are highly homogeneous, while values calculated using PTFs better reflect the morphopedological landscape heterogeneity. In all the MpLs, the hydraulic conductivity was higher than the maximum rainfall intensity report, indicating that the soils in Chapultepec Park, despite the differences in soils and intensity of use, provide the ecosystem service of infiltration. These results would allow the establishment of a baseline for monitoring these services and provide information to decision makers and urban planners seeking to reduce the construction of gray infrastructure that seals soils and reduces their capacity to provide these ecosystem services.https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2024.13398/fullmorpho-pedological landscapessaturated hydraulic conductivitysoil sealingsoil carbon sequestrationnature-based solution
spellingShingle Helena Cotler
Silke Cram
Blanca Prado
Victor Peña
Lilian Lucio
Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City
Spanish Journal of Soil Science
morpho-pedological landscapes
saturated hydraulic conductivity
soil sealing
soil carbon sequestration
nature-based solution
title Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City
title_full Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City
title_fullStr Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City
title_full_unstemmed Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City
title_short Soil Ecosystem Services in Urban Parks as a Basis for Better Urban Planning: The Case of Mexico City
title_sort soil ecosystem services in urban parks as a basis for better urban planning the case of mexico city
topic morpho-pedological landscapes
saturated hydraulic conductivity
soil sealing
soil carbon sequestration
nature-based solution
url https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2024.13398/full
work_keys_str_mv AT helenacotler soilecosystemservicesinurbanparksasabasisforbetterurbanplanningthecaseofmexicocity
AT silkecram soilecosystemservicesinurbanparksasabasisforbetterurbanplanningthecaseofmexicocity
AT blancaprado soilecosystemservicesinurbanparksasabasisforbetterurbanplanningthecaseofmexicocity
AT victorpena soilecosystemservicesinurbanparksasabasisforbetterurbanplanningthecaseofmexicocity
AT lilianlucio soilecosystemservicesinurbanparksasabasisforbetterurbanplanningthecaseofmexicocity