@article{1e078210ab254b7db8a2e963e16ed36f,
title = "A multi-city comparison of front and backyard differences in plant species diversity and nitrogen cycling in residential landscapes",
abstract = "We hypothesize that lower public visibility of residential backyards reduces households{\textquoteright} 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.",
keywords = "Land management, Plant diversity, Residential landscapes, Urban ecology, Urban soils",
author = "Locke, {Dexter H.} and Meghan Avolio and Tara Trammel and {Roy Chowdhury}, Rinku and {Morgan Grove}, J. and John Rogan and Martin, {Deborah G.} and Neil Bettez and Jeannine Cavender-Bares and Groffman, {Peter M.} and Sharon Hall and Heffernan, {James B.} and Hobbie, {Sarah E.} and Kelli Larson and Morse, {Jennifer L.} and Christopher Neill and Ogden, {Laura A.} and O'Neil-Dunne, {Jarlath P.M.} and Diane Pataki and Pearse, {William D.} and Colin Polsky and Wheeler, {Megan M.}",
note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Macrosystems Biology Program under Grants EF-1065548, -1065737, -1065740, -1065741, -1065772, -1065785, -1065831, and -121238320. The work arose from research funded by grants from the NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program supporting work at the Baltimore (DEB-0423476); Phoenix (BCS-1026865, DEB-0423704, and DEB-9714833); Plum Island (OCE-1058747 and 1238212), Cedar Creek (DEB-0620652) and Florida Coastal Everglades (DBI-0620409) LTER sites. This research was also supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). SESYNC is supported by an award from the US National Science Foundation (Grant # DBI-1052875 ) to the University of Maryland, with additional support from University of Maryland, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and Resources for the Future. Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation, Libby Fund Enhancement Award and the Marion I. Wright {\textquoteleft}46 Travel Grant at Clark University, The Warnock Foundation, the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Baltimore and Philadelphia Field Stations, and the DC-BC ULTRA-Ex NSF-DEB-0948947 also supported this research. The findings and opinions reported here do not necessarily reflect those of the funders of this research. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier B.V.",
year = "2018",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.05.030",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "178",
pages = "102--111",
journal = "Landscape Planning",
issn = "0169-2046",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}