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

铅污染城市环境并不是一个新现象。大量的研究都集中在含铅涂料对健康的影响上。然而，人们对受污染土壤的潜在问题关注较少。生态学家可以通过使用景观生态学的工具来预测城市居民区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、建筑和道路)是否可以用来预测土壤中的铅浓度。使用一种能够快速评估土壤中铅浓度的方法，这项研究将利用从城市居民区院子收集的信息来生成一个预测铅空间分布的模型。这项研究将促进我们对物业和社区之间的斑块如何影响城市系统中一种关键污染物的分布的了解，从而促进城市生态领域的不断发展。此外，这项研究还将检验土地覆盖作为预测生态变量的适宜性。通过各种非营利性组织交流这项研究的结果，将使城市居民更好地了解一种重要环境污染物的分布情况，从而使城市居民受益。尽管这项研究建立的模型将在很大程度上依赖于从马里兰州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情况。公共卫生界可以利用这一模式产生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.