Woody Vegetation and Soil Characteristics of Residential Forest Patches and Open Spaces along an Urban-to-Rural Gradient

As the process of urbanization advances across the country, so does the importance of urban fo-rests, which include both trees and the soils in which they grow. Soil microbial biomass, which plays a critical role in nutrient transformation in urban ecosystems, is affected by factors such as soil type and the availability of water, carbon, and nitrogen. The aim of this study was to cha-racterize residual forest patches and open fields in residential areas in the City of Knoxville. A field study was conducted to investigate tree species diversity and determine spatial and tem-poral soil characteristics along an urban-to-rural gradient. Tree diversity did not differ signifi-cantly for residential urban and rural plots in Knoxville, Tennessee. Biologically, there was no indication that soils were affected by tree diversity, in terms of soil microbial biomass C/N along an urban-to-rural gradient in Knoxville residential plots. Rural soils did differ physically from urban soils, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and soil moisture content (GSM). Similarly, physica