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

Authors

K. L. Larson, Arizona State University at the Tempe CampusFollow
K. C. Nelson, University of MinnesotaFollow
S. R. Samples, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
S. J. Hall, Arizona State University at the Tempe CampusFollow
N. Bettez, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
J. Cavender-Bares, University of Minnesota; Forest Service
P. M. Groffman, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
M. Grove, University of Minnesota; Forest Service
J. B. Heffernan, Duke UniversityFollow
S. E. Hobie, University of Minnesota, Forest ServiceFollow
J. Learnd, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
J.L. Morse, Portland State UniversityFollow
C. Neill, The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological LaboratoryFollow
L. A. Ogden, Dartmouth UniversityFollow
J. O'Neil-Dunne, Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural ResourcesFollow
D. E. Pataki, University of DelawareFollow
C. Polsky, Florida Atlantic UniversityFollow
R. Roy Chowdhury, Indiana UniversityFollow
M. Steele, Virginia TechFollow
T.L.E. Trammell, University of DelawareFollow

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.

Comments

DOI: 10.1007/s11252-015-0477-1

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DEB-1237517, #DBI-0620409, and #DEB-9910514. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Recommended Citation

Larson, K.L., Nelson, K.C., Samples, S.R. et al. Urban Ecosyst (2016) 19: 95. doi:10.1007/s11252-015-0477-1