Assessing the biogeochemical sensitivity of aquatic ecosystems to patterns of urbanized land use

加拿大各地正在建造城市池塘，以便在雨水流向下游之前容纳和清洁雨水。该项目将测量位于安大略省南部两个生长社区的城市池塘生态系统的元素预算。我们将研究池塘和集水区的特征如何影响关键生物元素（碳、氮和磷）的输入、储存和输出。此外，我们将测量生物活动速率，并确定它们对城市池塘元素储量的影响。因此，这项研究将确定池塘的关键生物地球化学过程对城市化模式的敏感性，并将有助于旨在提高城市生态系统环境质量的努力。该项目将为城市规划者和环境顾问提供对城市池塘生物地球化学、其决定因素及其后果的宝贵评估。此外，这项工作将确定分水岭特征、水文输入和城市池塘生态过程之间的机制联系，这是加拿大许多发展中社区的重要结构特征。

Urban ponds are being created across Canada to hold and clean stormwater runoff before it moves downstream. This project will measure elemental budgets of urban pond ecosystems in two growing communities located in southern Ontario. We will examine how pond and catchment characteristics affect the input, storage, and output of key biogenic elements (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus). In addition, we will measure rate of biological activities and determine their effects on elemental storage in urban ponds. This research will thus determine the sensitivity of key biogeochemical processes of ponds to patterns of urbanization and will aid efforts aimed at enhancing the environmental quality of urban ecosystems. This project will provide urban planners and environmental consultants with a valuable assessment of urban pond biogeochemistry, its determinants, and its consequences. In addition, this work will determine the mechanistic links between watershed characteristics, hydrological inputs, and ecological processes in urban ponds that are important structural features of many developing communities in Canada.