Pam Hazelton – författare

Soil properties such as water retention, salinity and acidity are not just issues for agriculture and forestry. They are equally as significant in creating environmental and structural problems for buildings and other engineering works. As an increasing proportion of the world''s population is living in cities, and building and related infrastructure development continues, these problems assume ever-greater importance. In addition, existing works contribute to urban soil erosion and pollution as well as increased levels of urban runoff.Understanding Soils in Urban Environments explains how urban soils develop, change and erode. It describes their physical and chemical properties and focuses on specific soil problems, such as acid sulfate soils, that can cause environmental concern and also affect engineering works. It also addresses contemporary issues such as green roofs, urban green space and the man-made urban soils that plants may need to thrive in. It provides a concise introduction to all aspects of soils in urban environments and will be extremely useful to students in a wide range of disciplines, from soil science and urban forestry and horticulture, to planning, engineering, construction and land remediation, as well as to engineers, builders, landscape architects, ecologists, planners and developers.

Understanding Soils in Urban Environments is a concise book explaining how urban soils develop, change and erode. Soils provide the foundation for buildings and infrastructure, and the medium for plant growth in fields, parks and gardens. They can act as a sink for waste, and can be contaminated in urban areas by heavy metals, organic chemicals and other contaminants. Soil properties such as water retention, salinity and acidity can cause environmental and structural problems for buildings and other engineering works. This text recognises and draws attention to the particular nature of soils in urban environments and discusses their distinctive management needs. Since the first edition was published in 2011, it has been used across a wide range of disciplines, many of which require an understanding of urban soil and specific soil properties that cause environmental concern. Urban soils are now recognised as much more important now than they were ten years ago, when they were seen as a poor relation to agriculture. The need for better understanding of all aspects of this topic has become evident especially at conferences in the last 5 years in Australia and internationally, where urban soils are now included as specific sections, not just as subsets such as contamination. This new edition updates and expands on the original text, including a specific chapter on the use of manufactured soil for rehabilitation and recreation, and additional case studies in other chapters, particularly contamination. The text is updated throughout to address the increasing importance of soil health for seed banks and parklands, and its implications for planning developments, the legal determination of bioregions, and addressing environmental issues that can arise from mismanagement of urban soils.