Lawns, Gardens, and Yards: Understanding Residents’ Land Management Choices and Sustainability Outcomes

Abstract:
The ubiquity of residential land uses place them at the center of landscape sustainability, which has been defined as the capacity of landscapes (inclusive of natural and built elements) to maximize ecosystem services while minimizing disservices. With the prevalence of lawns in residential land systems, scholars and conservations have raised concerns about their ecosystem disservices (i.e., negative environmental impacts), which include high water use and diminished biodiversity. To address these concerns, yard alternatives have emerged such as low water-use “xeric” landscapes and wildlife gardens. In this talk, I will share empirical results on the complex dynamics shaping residential land management decisions, which in turn affect sustainability outcomes—specifically, water conservation and biodiversity preservation. Additionally, I will reveal important, evidence-based considerations underpinning the social sustainability of residential landscapes, which requires designing and managing yards in ways that are aesthetically appreciated and easy to maintain. My talk contains two parts focusing on: 1) the factors affecting the adoption of xeric, water-conserving yards in metro Phoenix, AZ, some of which defy common assumptions about residents’ decisions and associated landscape change; and 2) the priorities that enable and constrain gardening for wildlife in residential areas across metropolitan regions of the US. In the second part, I will also demonstrate the significant impacts of wildlife gardens on plant and bird diversity based on interdisciplinary social-ecological research. To conclude, I offer suggestions on pursuing ecologically beneficial landscapes that garner public appreciation and maintenance over time, while also providing recommendations to advance landscape sustainability based on empirical evidence.

About the Speaker:
Kelli Larson is a geographer who studies human-environment interactions. After receiving her PhD in 2004 from Oregon State University, she joined the faculty at Arizona State University, where she is a Professor across the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the School of Sustainability. Having served as a PI on several, large grants from the National Science Foundation, Larson has extensive interdisciplinary research experience in water resource governance and urban landscape sustainability. Her current research focuses on residential and urban land management, human-wildlife interactions, and biological conservation in metropolitan regions. Over her 20-plus year career, she has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles. She has also served on the editorial board of Society and Natural Resources and continues to serve on the board for Landscape and Urban Planning. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her partner and their dogs, hiking and paddling, cooking, reading and practicing yoga.

Contact

Julissa Irizarry
jii5054@psu.edu