A multi-city comparison of front and backyard differences in plant species diversity and nitrogen cycling in residential landscapes

《A multi-city comparison of front and backyard differences in plant species diversity and nitrogen cycling in residential landscapes》

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来源: LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,Vol.178,P.102-111

语言: 英文

关键字: Land management; Urban ecology; Residential landscapes; Plant diversity; Urban soils; MIXED-EFFECTS MODELS; UNITED-STATES; LAWN-CARE; NEW-YORK; HOMOGENIZATION; VEGETATION; PREDICTORS; COMMUNITY; GREEN

作者单位: [Locke, Dexter H.; Grove, J. Morgan] Natl Socioenvironm Synth Ctr SESYNC, 1 Pk Pl,Suite 300, Annapolis, MD 21401 USA. [Avolio, Meghan] Johns Hopkins Univ, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA. [Trammell, Tara L. E.] Univ Delaware, Dept Plant & Soil Sci, Newark, DE 19716 USA. [Chowdhury, Rinku Roy; Rogan, John; Martin, Deborah G.] Clark Univ, Grad Sch Geog, 950 Main St, Worcester, MA 01610 USA. [Grove, J. Morgan] US Forest Serv, USDA, Northern Res Stn, Baltimore Field Stn, Baltimore, MD USA. [Bettez, Neil; Groffman, Peter M.] Cary Inst Ecosyst Studies, Millbrook, NY USA. [Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Hobbie, Sarah E.] Univ Minnesota, Dept Ecol Evolut & Behav, St Paul, MN 55108 USA. [Groffman, Peter M.] CUNY, Grad Ctr, Adv Sci Res Ctr, New York, NY USA. [Hall, Sharon J.; Wheeler, Megan M.] Arizona State Univ, Sch Life Sci, Tempe, AZ USA. [Heffernan, James B.] Duke Univ, Nicholas Sch Environm, Durham, NC 27706 USA. [Larson, Kelli L.] Arizona State Univ, Sch Geog Sci & Urban Planning, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA. [Larson, Kelli L.] Arizona State Univ, Sch Sustainabil, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA. [Morse, Jennifer L.] Portland State Univ, Dept Environm Sci & Management, Portland, OR 97207 USA. [Neill, Christopher] Marine Biol Lab, Ctr Ecosyst, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA. [Ogden, Laura A.] Dartmouth Coll, Dept Anthropol, Hanover, NH 03755 USA. [O'Neil-Dunne, Jarlath P. M.] Univ Vermont, Rubenstein Sch Environm & Nat Resources, Spatial Anal Lab, Burlington, VT 05405 USA. [Pataki, Diane] Univ Utah, Dept Biol, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 USA. [Pearse, William D.] Utah State Univ, Dept Biol, Logan, UT 84322 USA. [Pearse, William D.] Utah State Univ, Ctr Ecol, Logan, UT 84322 USA. [Polsky, Colin] Florida Atlantic Univ, Ctr Environm Studies, Davie, FL 33314 USA. Locke, DH (reprint author), Natl Socioenvironm Synth Ctr SESYNC, 1 Pk Pl,Suite 300, Annapolis, MD 21401 USA. E-Mail: dexter.locke@gmail.com

摘要: We hypothesize that lower public visibility of residential backyards reduces households' desire for social conformity, which alters residential land management and produces differences in ecological composition and function between front and backyards. Using lawn vegetation plots (7 cities) and soil cores (6 cities), we examine plant species richness and evenness and nitrogen cycling of lawns in Boston, Baltimore, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, Los Angeles (LA), and Salt Lake City (SLC). Seven soil nitrogen measures were compared because different irrigation and fertilization practices may vary between front and backyards, which may alter nitrogen cycling in soils. In addition to lawn-only measurements, we collected and analyzed plant species richness for entire yards cultivated (intentionally planted) and spontaneous (self-regenerating) for front and backyards in just two cities: LA and SLC. Lawn plant species and soils were not different between front and backyards in our multi-city comparisons. However, entire-yard plant analyses in LA and SLC revealed that frontyards had significantly fewer species than backyards for both cultivated and spontaneous species. These results suggest that there is a need for a more rich and social-ecologically nuanced understanding of potential residential, household behaviors and their ecological consequences.