Title: Symposium--Optimizing Ecosystem Services of Urban Soils: Our Current State of the Science

Session Description: Soils in the built environment are often modified through physical (e.g., compaction), chemical (e.g., addition of various contaminants) and biological disturbances (e.g., removal of topsoil and effects on flora and fauna). These modifications occur so that these soils perform the ecosystem service of an engineering medium. These modifications, in turn, affect other ecosystem services such as water and gas exchange and transport, nutrient and contaminant cycling, biological productivity and suitability as an engineering medium. The goals of this symposium are (1) to better understand the impact of urban soil modification on ecosystem services and (2) to discuss management actions that might optimize various ecosystem services of urban soils. Each of four invited speakers will present background on an urban soil ecosystem service and discuss potential management actions to optimize the soil for that service.