Ecosystem services in managing residential landscapes: priorities, value dimensions, and cross-regional patterns

Authors

K. L. Larson, Arizona State University
K. C. Nelson, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
S. R. Samples, Arizona State University
S. J. Hall, School of Life Sciences
N. Bettez, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
J. Cavender-Bares, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
P. M. Groffman, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
M. Grove, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
J. B. Heffernan, Duke University
S. E. Hobbie, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
J. Learned, School of Life Sciences
J. L. Morse, Portland State University
C. Neill, Ecosystems Center
L. A. Ogden, Dartmouth College
J. O’Neil-Dunne, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
D. E. Pataki, University of Delaware
C. Polsky, Florida Atlantic University
R. Roy Chowdhury, Indiana University Bloomington
M. Steele, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
T. L.E. Trammell, University of Delaware

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Although ecosystem services have been intensively examined in certain domains (e.g., forests and wetlands), little research has assessed ecosystem services for the most dominant landscape type in urban ecosystems—namely, residential yards. In this paper, we report findings of a cross-site survey of homeowners in six U.S. cities to 1) examine how residents subjectively value various ecosystem services, 2) explore distinctive dimensions of those values, and 3) test the urban homogenization hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that urbanization leads to similarities in the social-ecological dynamics across cities in diverse biomes. By extension, the thesis suggests that residents’ ecosystem service priorities for residential landscapes will be similar regardless of whether residents live in the humid East or the arid West, or the warm South or the cold North. Results underscored that cultural services were of utmost importance, particularly anthropocentric values including aesthetics, low-maintenance, and personal enjoyment. Using factor analyses, distinctive dimensions of residents’ values were found to partially align with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s categories (provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural). Finally, residents’ ecosystem service priorities exhibited significant homogenization across regions. In particular, the traditional lawn aesthetic (neat, green, weed-free yards) was similarly important across residents of diverse U.S. cities. Only a few exceptions were found across different environmental and social contexts; for example, cooling effects were more important in the warm South, where residents also valued aesthetics more than those in the North, where low-maintenance yards were a greater priority.

Publication Title

Urban Ecosystems

Publication Date

2016

Volume

19

Issue

1

First Page

95

Last Page

113

ISSN

1083-8155

DOI

10.1007/s11252-015-0477-1

Keywords

ecosystem services, human values, land management, lawns, residential landscapes, urban sustainability

Repository Citation

Larson, K. L.; Nelson, K. C.; Samples, S. R.; Hall, S. J.; Bettez, N.; Cavender-Bares, J.; Groffman, P. M.; Grove, M.; Heffernan, J. B.; Hobbie, S. E.; Learned, J.; Morse, J. L.; Neill, C.; Ogden, L. A.; O’Neil-Dunne, J.; Pataki, D. E.; Polsky, C.; Chowdhury, R. Roy; Steele, M.; and Trammell, T. L.E., "Ecosystem services in managing residential landscapes: priorities, value dimensions, and cross-regional patterns" (2016). Geography. 590.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/590