•We researched social and cultural motives for decision about establishment and use of lawns within Lawn Project.•Questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews and observational studies in ...multifamily residential areas in Uppsala, Malmö and Göteborg.•Estimation of the lawn cover and the links to people’s perception and use of lawns.•Lawns are valued as important places for different outdoor activities.•Opportunities for creating alternative biodiverse and cost effective lawns.
Lawns have a significant influence on the cityscape as one of the essential elements of green spaces and an important part of people’s everyday lives. Most people in the Western world view lawns as a compulsory element of the urban landscape, almost an icon, without questioning their social, symbolic, ecological or aesthetic values. This research is a part of the conceptual framework and methodological approaches that are being used in an ongoing transdisciplinary collaboration project to study lawns in Sweden as a social and ecological phenomenon.
The overall aim of this study was to investigate social and cultural perceptions of lawns, as well as motives behind decisions about the establishment and management of lawns in Sweden. Two multi-family housing typologies, the ‘Million Programme’ and ‘People’s Homes’, were examined due to their dominance in Swedish cities. We also studied how an alternative vision of conventional lawns can be applied and accepted by urban residents. We estimated lawn cover in multi-family housing areas and links to people’s perception and use of lawns. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observational studies were used (N=300). Our results showed that people like lawns even if they do not always directly use them. Lawns cover the most significant amount of outdoor spaces in all multi-family residential areas and accompany people everywhere from the house to the schoolyard or park. The total lawn cover in the study areas was 27.8%. Lawns were particularly valued as important places for different outdoor activities (playing, resting, picnicking, walking, socialising) and enjoying the green colour. However people do not want to use a vast monotonous lawn, but a variety of spaces that provide good conditions for different senses (sound, smell, touch and sight) and activities. Alternative lawns were also appreciated by many citizens, politicians, planners and managers. The implementation of new types of lawns requires special planning and design solutions adjusted for each particular neighbourhood.
This opinion paper discusses urban lawns, the most common part of open green spaces and urban green infrastructures. It highlights both the ecosystem services and also disservices provided by urban ...lawns based on the authors’ experience of working within interdisciplinary research projects on lawns in different cities of Europe (Germany, Sweden and Russia), New Zealand (Christchurch), USA (Syracuse, NY) and Australia (Perth). It complements this experience with a detailed literature review based on the most recent studies of different biophysical, social, planning and design aspects of lawns. We also used an international workshop as an important part of the research methodology. We argue that although lawns of Europe and the United States of America are now relatively well studied, other parts of the world still underestimate the importance of researching lawns as a complex ecological and social phenomenon. One of the core objectives of this paper is to share a paradigm of nature-based solutions in the context of lawns, which can be an important step towards finding resilient sustainable alternatives for urban green spaces in the time of growing urbanisation, increased urban land use competition, various user demands and related societal challenges of the urban environment. We hypothesise that these solutions may be found in urban ecosystems and various local native plant communities that are rich in species and able to withstand harsh conditions such as heavy trampling and droughts. To support the theoretical hypothesis of the relevance of nature-based solutions for lawns we also suggest and discuss the concept of two natures—different approaches to the vision of urban nature, including the understanding and appreciation of lawns. This will help to increase the awareness of existing local ecological approaches as well as an importance of introducing innovative landscape architecture practices. This article suggests that there is a potential for future transdisciplinary international research that might aid our understanding of lawns in different climatic and socio-cultural conditions as well as develop locally adapted (to environmental conditions, social needs and management policies) and accepted nature-based solutions.
Intensive management of urban lawns is globally widespread, predominantly for aesthetic reasons. However, a growing body of knowledge demonstrates negative ecological and environmental effects of ...this practice.
We present a meta‐analysis of North American and European studies from 2004 to 2019, which incorporates three previously unpublished datasets from eastern Canada, to investigate how mowing intensity impacts the ecology of urban lawns.
The meta‐analysis provides aggregated evidence that invertebrate and plant diversity is lower in urban lawns under increased mowing intensity. This decline is independent of the level of contrast between mowing ‘treatment’ and ‘control’ (e.g. height or frequency of mowing), which differed considerably between studies. Intensive mowing also increases the occurrence of pest species (e.g. herbivorous beetle larvae and allergenic plants), though studies in this group were limited to northern environments. Changes in ecosystem‐level variables (soil temperature, soil moisture deficit and carbon deficit) were less evident and suggest changes in abiotic processes may take longer to become apparent.
An economic case study of the mowing costs in Trois‐Rivières, Canada, suggests that cost savings of 36% may be possible with a modest reduction of mowing frequency.
Synthesis and Applications. Increasing urban biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are strong motivators for reducing lawn management intensity. We also suggest that the benefits of reducing pest species while saving lawn management costs may provide additional social and economic incentives for decision makers to review urban greenspace management practices.
Increasing urban biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are strong motivators for reducing lawn management intensity. We also suggest that the benefits of reducing pest species while saving lawn management costs may provide additional social and economic incentives for decision makers to review urban greenspace management practices.
Zoysiagrass for Florida Lawns Bryan Unruh; Marco Schiavon; Alex Lindsey ...
EDIS,
05/2022, Volume:
2022, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Zoysiagrasses were introduced into the United States from Asia and provide attractive turf throughout much of the United States. In recent years, newer cultivars of zoysiagrass have entered the ...market with improved insect resistance, accelerated establishment, and better overall performance. This 8-page major revision of the Environmental Horticulture Department was written by J. Bryan Unruh, Marco Schiavon, Alex J. Lindsey, Kevin E. Kenworthy, and L. E. Trenholm. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh011
Lawns are a dominant cover type in urban ecosystems, and there is concern about their impacts on water quality. However, recent watershed-level studies suggest that these pervious areas might be net ...sinks, rather than sources, for nitrogen (N) in the urban environment. A ¹⁵N pulse-labeling experiment was performed on lawn and forest plots in the Baltimore (Maryland, USA) metropolitan area to test the hypothesis that lawns are a net sink for atmospheric-N deposition and to compare and contrast mechanisms of N retention in these vegetation types. A pulse of $^{{\rm{15}}} {\rm{N - NO}}_{\rm{3}} ^ - $, simulating a precipitation event, was followed through mineral soils, roots, Oi-layer/thatch, aboveground biomass, microbial biomass, inorganic N, and evolved N₂ gas over a one-year period. The ¹⁵N label was undetectable in gaseous samples, but enrichment of other pools was high. Gross rates of production and consumption of NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁺ were measured to assess differences in internal N cycling under lawns and forests. Rates of N retention were similar during the first five days of the experiment, with lawns showing higher N retention than forests after 10, 70, and 365 days. Lawns had larger pools of available NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁺; however, gross rates of mineralization and nitrification were also higher, leading to no net differences in NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁺ turnover times between the two systems. Levels of ¹⁵N remained steady in forest mineral soils from day 70 to 365 (at 23% of applied ¹⁵N), but continued to accumulate in lawn mineral soils over this same time period, increasing from 20% to 33% of applied ¹⁵N. The dominant sink for N in lawn plots changed over time. Immobilization in mineral soils dominated immediately (one day) after tracer application (42% of recovered ¹⁵N); plant biomass dominated the short term (10 days; 51%); thatch and mineral-soil pools together dominated the medium term (70 days; 28% and 36%, respectively); and the mineral-soil pool alone dominated long-term retention (one year; 70% of recovered ¹⁵N). These findings illustrate the mechanisms whereby urban and suburban lawns under low to moderate management intensities are an important sink for atmospheric-N deposition.
A lush green lawn is one of the great pleasures of the natural world, whether it’s right outside your front door or on a majestic fairway at a legendary golf course. But anyone who has tried to grow ...the perfect lawn the conventional way knows it requires an endless cycle of watering and applying synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemical pesticides that costs a lot of money and kills all the life in the soil, on the surface, and on the grass. Fortunately, there’s a better way. Organic lawn care is not only healthier for the environment, it’s actually cheaper and less water-intensive, whether you’re managing a small yard or acres of turf. In Organic Lawn Care: Growing Grass the Natural Way, Howard Garrett, the renowned “Dirt Doctor," takes you step-by-step through creating and maintaining turf organically. He begins with the soil, showing you how to establish a healthy habitat for grass. Then he discusses a variety of turfgrasses, including Bermudagrass, bluegrass, buffalograss, fescue, ryegrass, St. Augustine, and zoysia. Garrett explains in detail how to establish and maintain a lawn, including planting, mowing, watering, fertilizing, composting, and managing weeds and pests. And he offers alternatives to lawn grasses and turf, describing the situations in which they might be your best choice. Follow the program in Organic Lawn Care, and don’t be surprised when your water bill drops dramatically and your lawn or golf course is the best-looking one around.
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