@article{f8e0ecb8b11547e8bf5dea63ebd6882d,
title = "The capacity of urban forest patches to infiltrate stormwater is influenced by soil physical properties and soil moisture",
abstract = "Forest patches in developed landscapes perform ecohydrological functions that can reduce urban stormwater flows. However, urban forest patch contributions to runoff mitigation are not well understood due to a lack of performance data. In this study, we focus on the potential of urban forest patch soils to infiltrate rainfall by characterizing rates of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) in 21 forest patches in Baltimore, Maryland. Soil bulk density, organic matter, soil moisture, percent of coarse fragments (≥2 mm), and texture were evaluated at the same locations to assess drivers of K. The K was significantly higher in soils with high sand content and related positively with the percent of coarse fragment material in the soil. Forest patch size did not impact K. We estimate that 68 percent of historic rainfall could be infiltrated by urban forest patch soils at the measured K rates. Continuous monitoring at one forest patch also showed that K is dynamic in time and influenced by antecedent soil moisture conditions. We conservatively estimate that unsaturated urban forest patch soils alone are capable of infiltrating most rain events of low to moderate intensities that fell within these forest patches in the Baltimore region. Considering this ecohydrologic function, the protection and expansion of forest patches can make substantial contributions to stormwater mitigation.",
keywords = "Ecohydrology, Ecosystem services, Infiltration, Soil properties, Stormwater management, Urban forest",
author = "Phillips, {Tuana H.} and Baker, {Matthew E.} and Katie Lautar and Ian Yesilonis and Pavao-Zuckerman, {Mitchell A.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank our funding sources, including The Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund with administrative support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust , USDA- USFS , and the Greening Youth Foundation , and Hatch project accession no. 1012767 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture . We thank Miriam Avins (Baltimore Green Space), Nancy Sonti (USFS), Wilford Briggs (Greening Youth Foundation), and William Shuster (EPA) for their assistance and advice in site selection and study design. This work would not have been possible without the help from lab assistance from Wuillam Urvina, Calvin Lynn, Larry Davis, Taylor Brinks, Jennifer Hedin, and Melissa Stefun. We thank Joe Sullivan, Anne Hairston-Strang and two anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript. Funding Information: We thank our funding sources, including The Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund with administrative support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, USDA-USFS, and the Greening Youth Foundation, and Hatch project accession no. 1012767 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. We thank Miriam Avins (Baltimore Green Space), Nancy Sonti (USFS), Wilford Briggs (Greening Youth Foundation), and William Shuster (EPA) for their assistance and advice in site selection and study design. This work would not have been possible without the help from lab assistance from Wuillam Urvina, Calvin Lynn, Larry Davis, Taylor Brinks, Jennifer Hedin, and Melissa Stefun. We thank Joe Sullivan, Anne Hairston-Strang and two anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2019",
month = sep,
day = "15",
doi = "10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.05.127",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "246",
pages = "11--18",
journal = "Journal of Environmental Management",
issn = "0301-4797",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
}