Land-use legacy in urban grasslands, Baltimore County, MD, USA

The expansion of urban ecosystems into surrounding agricultural and natural landscapes is a major driver of land-use change. Urban grasslands are an integral part of urban landscapes and the establishment and maintenance practices associated with turfgrass ecosystems have been shown to alter soil microbiomes and microbially-mediated nutrient cycling. Land-use legacy effects on soil edaphic conditions and soil organic matter derived from historic land-uses have also been shown to affect soil microorganisms when land-use change occurs. This study compared residential lawns of either agricultural or forested land-use history to contemporary agriculture and forest sites in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (Baltimore County, MD, USA) to determine the effects of land-use legacy and urban grassland establishment and maintenance on soil microbiota and nutrient cycling.