Urban residential soils provide an array of ecosystem services which include provisioning services (food, wood), regulating services (nutrient retention, carbon storage) and cultural services (aesthetics, sense of place, and recreational benefits). However, anthropogenic practices (such as fertilization and irrigation) in urban residential landscapes can increase environmental pressure and impacts on soil biogeochemical cycling of the soil, potentially Excessive use of fertilizer could result in phosphorus (P)accumulation in soil which may be lost in runoff or by leaching into ground water and nearby water bodies, degrading water quality. Hence, there is a need to understand P dynamics in varying residential yard management practices in the American Residential Macrosystem (ARM), to better manage pollution and project alternative trajectories of management practices to promote P uptake and retention in urban soils. This research investigates how soil variables, contrasting yard management practices, and geographic settings significantly influence patterns and concentrations of available P. We sampled soils at two soil depths from five different yard management typologies and natural reference sites in Boston and Baltimore. Available P was extracted using Mehlich 3 extraction method, Total P content was measured using the ashing method, combusted and then analyzed for orthophosphate as described by Murphy and Riley using SmartChem 170 discrete nutrient analyzer. Extractable cations (Al, Fe and Ca) were also analyzed and measured using ICP-OES. There were no significant differences found across the different management types or cities. This could probably be because of low sample size and high unexplained variance.
