Ecosystem Services Provided By Soils of Urban, Industrial, Traffic, Mining and Military Areas (SUITMAs).

In the urban ecosystem, soils play an essential role with their functions and ecosystem services. However, they are still poorly taken into consideration for the sustainable development of urban ecosystems. Here we propose a categorization of soils areas strongly affected by human activities, according to the ecosystem services they provide. Focus is put on the characteristics and number of services provided by soil groups of urbanized areas, and their importance is given for each soil group. Soils here considered are called SUITMAs, for soils of industrial, traffic, mining and military areas. This definition refers to a large number of soil types of strongly anthropized areas. SUITMAs are then organized in four soil groups, i.e., i) pseudo-natural soils, ii) vegetated engineered soils, iii) dumping site soils, and iv) sealed soils. For each group, examples for ecosystem services are given, evaluated and ranked. This proposal contributes to foster the dialogue between urban spatial planning and soil scientists to improve both soil science in the city and recognition of SUITMAs regarding their role for the sustainable development of urban ecosystems, and, in particular, to promote multifunctional soils in urban areas.