Biogeochemical and socioeconomic drivers of above- and below-ground carbon stocks in urban residential yards of a small city

•Above- and below-ground C stocks in urban yards are decoupled from one another.•Housing age explains soil C stocks while socioeconomic factors explain tree biomass C.•Small cities may show unique C storage patterns. Research on patterns of below-ground carbon (C) storage in urban lawns has focused on biogeochemical mechanisms, with human activities playing an important but somewhat secondary role. By contrast, studies of above-ground vegetation in urban areas have emphasized socioeconomic factors that influence greenness, abundance, and diversity, without explicitly considering biogeochemical mechanisms. Here we examine how both biogeochemical and socioeconomic factors influence patterns of C storage in urban yards both above- and below-ground. We combined measurements of above- and below-ground C stocks in 36 lawns located in the small city (