Abstract
Initiatives to repurpose vacant lots to improve people’s well-being are increasing worldwide. Still, little is known about how distinct plant communities influence the provision of ecosystem services in vacant lots. To bridge this gap, we investigated associations in vacant lots between land-cover type, plant diversity (both taxonomic and functional), and composition with soil organic carbon and hydraulic conductivity which are indicators of carbon storage and stormwater runoff control. We sampled plant communities, soil organic carbon, and hydraulic conductivity across 50 sites, three plots per site, in the Greater Quebec City Area, Canada. The sites comprised five land-cover types: lawn, bare soil, low- and high-density herbaceous vegetation, and sparse trees. Soil organic carbon was lowest in bare soil lots, while the lowest hydraulic conductivity was found in lots with sparse trees and high-density herbaceous vegetation. Soil organic carbon was positively correlated with forb and total plant cover, but negatively correlated with functional dispersion. Hydraulic conductivity was positively correlated with taproot frequency and functional dispersion of three traits (lifespan, specific leaf area, and reproductive modes), but negatively correlated with grass and total plant cover. This research highlights the associations between plant functional traits and groups with soil characteristics, uncovering patterns that might be overlooked if only land-cover was considered, such as higher carbon storage and hydraulic conductivity associated with forb-rich meadows with high taproot frequency. We advocate for a trait-focused approach in vacant lot revitalization, particularly when the goal is to enhance local levels of soil-based ecosystem services.
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Data availability
The dataset and analyses R script was made available at https://github.com/polimendes/SoilvsBio.git.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), [funding reference number NSERC NETGP 523374-18]. Cette recherche a été financée par le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG), [numéro de référence NSERC NETGP 523374-18]. We thank Gilles Ayotte and Denis Bastien for helping with plant specimen identification and Jeremy Lundholm for providing help with the soil analysis methodology. We thank Monique Goulet and Martine Lapointe for lending soil analysis tools, as well as Jessica Champagne-Caron, Audrey Vallée, Rebecca Beauchamp, and Laurence Turmel-Couchesne for field and laboratory assistance. We thank the NSERC ResNet collaborators, partners, and highly qualified personnel, as well as MP lab group for inspiring discussions which contributed to this research. We specially thank landowners and the management of Quebec City for providing access and information on vacant lots. Finally, we thank the reviewers and editor for their valuable suggestions on the manuscript. This is an NSERC ResNet publication.
Funding
This research was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), [funding reference number NSERC NETGP 523374–18].
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. P. Mendes and B. Bourgeois performed the data collection and statistical analyses. P. Mendes wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors commented the previous versions of the manuscript and approved the current version.
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Mendes, P., Bourgeois, B., Pellerin, S. et al. Linkages between plant functional diversity and soil-based ecosystem services in urban and peri-urban vacant lots. Urban Ecosyst (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01470-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01470-5