Dissertation Research: The Spatial Dynamics of Lead Levels in Urban Soil and Correlations with Land Cover

城市环境的铅污染不是一个新现象。 大量的研究集中在含铅油漆对健康的影响上。 然而，很少有人注意到土壤污染的潜在问题。 生态学家可以通过使用景观生态学的工具来预测城市住宅土壤中铅的残留位置和数量，从而帮助理解这个问题。 这项研究将解决在城市环境中发现的某些特征（树木，草坪，建筑物和道路）是否可以用来预测土壤中的铅浓度。 使用一种方法，允许快速评估土壤中的铅浓度，这项研究将使用从城市住宅庭院收集的信息，以生成一个模型，将预测铅的空间分布。 这项研究将有助于不断增长的城市生态学领域，通过推进我们的知识如何斑块跨属性和社区影响城市系统中的关键污染物的分布。 此外，本研究将测试土地覆被作为预测生态变量的适宜性。 通过各种非营利组织交流这项研究的结果，将通过提高对重要环境污染物分布的了解使城市居民受益。 虽然这项研究创建的模型将在很大程度上依赖于从马里兰州的巴尔的摩收集的数据，但这项研究将有助于了解其他城市地区的土壤铅污染。 公共卫生界可以使用该模型生成的信息来简化当前的铅补救工作。

Lead contamination of the urban environment is not a new phenomenon. A great deal of research has focused on the health effects of lead-based paint. Less attention, however, has been given to the potential problem of contaminated soils. Ecologists can help understand this problem by using the tools of landscape ecology to predict where and how much lead remains in urban residential soil. This research will address whether certain features found in the urban environment (trees, lawns, buildings, and roads) can be used to predict lead concentrations in soil. Using a method that allows for rapid assessment of lead concentrations in soil, this research will use information gathered from urban residential yards to generate a model that will predict the spatial distribution of lead. This research will contribute to the growing field of urban ecology by advancing our knowledge of how patchiness across properties and neighborhoods affects the distribution of a critical pollutant in urban systems. In addition, this research will test the suitability of land cover as a predictive ecological variable. Communicating results of this research through various non-profit organizations will benefit city residents through an improved understanding of the distribution of an important environmental contaminant. Although the model created by this research will rely heavily on data collected from Baltimore, Maryland, this research will contribute to the understanding of soil lead contamination in other urban areas. The public health community can use information generated by this model to streamline current lead remediation efforts.