Abstract

Residential yards across the US look remarkably similar despite marked variation in climate and soil, yet the drivers of this homogenization are unknown. Telephone surveys of fertilizer and irrigation use and satisfaction with the natural environment, and measurements of inherent water and nitrogen availability in six US cities (Boston, Baltimore, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, Los Angeles) showed that the percentage of people using irrigation at least once in a year was relatively invariant with little difference between the wettest (Miami, 85%) and driest (Phoenix, 89%) cities. The percentage of people using fertilizer at least once in a year also ranged narrowly (52%–71%), while soil nitrogen supply varied by 10x. Residents expressed similar levels of satisfaction with the natural environment in their neighborhoods. The nature and extent of this satisfaction must be understood if environmental managers hope to effect change in the establishment and maintenance of residential ecosystems.

Details

Title
Satisfaction, water and fertilizer use in the American residential macrosystem
Author
Groffman, Peter M 1 ; J Morgan Grove 2 ; Polsky, Colin 3 ; Bettez, Neil D 1 ; Morse, Jennifer L 4 ; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine 5 ; Hall, Sharon J 6 ; Heffernan, James B 7 ; Hobbie, Sarah E 5 ; Larson, Kelli L 8 ; Neill, Christopher 9 ; Nelson, Kristen 10 ; Ogden, Laura 11 ; Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne 12 ; Pataki, Diane 13 ; Rinku Roy Chowdhury 14 ; Locke, Dexter H 14 

 Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA 
 USDA Forest Service, Baltimore Field Station, Suite 350, 5523 Research Park Dr, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA 
 Florida Atlantic University, Center for Environmental Studies, 3200 College Ave., Building DW-312, Davie, FL 33314, USA 
 Portland State University, Department of Environmental Science and Management, PO Box 751-ESM, Portland, OR 97207, USA 
 Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA 
 School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA 
 Nicholas School of the Environment, Box 90328, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA 
 School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5302, USA 
 The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA 
10  Department of Forest Resources and Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology, 115 Green Hall, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N. St. Paul, MN 55108, USA 
11  Dartmouth College, Department of Anthropology, 406A Silsby Hall, Hanover, NH 03755-3529, USA 
12  University of Vermont, Spatial Analysis Lab, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, 205E Aiken Center, 81 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA 
13  Department of Biology University of Utah, 257 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA 
14  Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, 950 Main St., Worcester, MA 01610, USA 
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Mar 2016
Publisher
IOP Publishing
e-ISSN
17489326
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2549219746
Copyright
© 2016. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.