High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments
A growing body of research indicates that urban landscapes can support biodiversity and provide multiple ecosystem services. However, we still have limited knowledge about how specific design and management choices impact environmental benefits within highly modified landscapes. Furthermore, we know...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/9/1689 |
| _version_ | 1797579210588422144 |
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| author | J. Amy Belaire Heather Bass Heather Venhaus Keri Barfield Tim Pannkuk Katherine Lieberknecht Shalene Jha |
| author_facet | J. Amy Belaire Heather Bass Heather Venhaus Keri Barfield Tim Pannkuk Katherine Lieberknecht Shalene Jha |
| author_sort | J. Amy Belaire |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A growing body of research indicates that urban landscapes can support biodiversity and provide multiple ecosystem services. However, we still have limited knowledge about how specific design and management choices impact environmental benefits within highly modified landscapes. Furthermore, we know relatively little about the potential tradeoffs and synergies encountered when managing for multiple ecosystem services within urban landscapes. In this study, we address knowledge gaps in both research and practice by leveraging a ‘designed experiment’ approach that included a diverse team of researchers and practitioners to evaluate the impacts of designed landscapes on several focal environmental outcomes essential for urban sustainability. Specifically, we evaluated small-scale designed-landscape research plots that varied in plant richness, origin of vegetation, and drought tolerance, and we simultaneously quantified impacts on water conservation, pollinators, and maintenance-related impacts, as well as their intersection with aesthetic appeal for residents. Our results indicate that key landscape choices such as the selection of drought-tolerant plants and a diverse native plant palette can simultaneously enhance water conservation, increase resources for pollinators, and reduce maintenance impacts. Importantly, the designs that rated more highly in terms of visual quality were also those that supported higher pollinator biodiversity and required relatively little water for irrigation, indicating that synergy across multiple benefits is achievable in designed landscapes. In urban landscapes, aesthetic appeal is often a top priority, and our results indicate that visual quality does not need to be sacrificed in order to design landscapes that additionally support water conservation and provide resources for pollinators. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:33:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a16c838a0c04b8caf29c3ef191de0c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:33:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a16c838a0c04b8caf29c3ef191de0c52023-11-19T11:33:33ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-08-01129168910.3390/land12091689High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban EnvironmentsJ. Amy Belaire0Heather Bass1Heather Venhaus2Keri Barfield3Tim Pannkuk4Katherine Lieberknecht5Shalene Jha6The Nature Conservancy, Houston, TX 77098, USATarrant Regional Water District, Fort Worth, TX 76102, USARegenerative Environmental Design, Austin, TX 78748, USAFort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USADepartment of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering Technology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77340, USASchool of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAA growing body of research indicates that urban landscapes can support biodiversity and provide multiple ecosystem services. However, we still have limited knowledge about how specific design and management choices impact environmental benefits within highly modified landscapes. Furthermore, we know relatively little about the potential tradeoffs and synergies encountered when managing for multiple ecosystem services within urban landscapes. In this study, we address knowledge gaps in both research and practice by leveraging a ‘designed experiment’ approach that included a diverse team of researchers and practitioners to evaluate the impacts of designed landscapes on several focal environmental outcomes essential for urban sustainability. Specifically, we evaluated small-scale designed-landscape research plots that varied in plant richness, origin of vegetation, and drought tolerance, and we simultaneously quantified impacts on water conservation, pollinators, and maintenance-related impacts, as well as their intersection with aesthetic appeal for residents. Our results indicate that key landscape choices such as the selection of drought-tolerant plants and a diverse native plant palette can simultaneously enhance water conservation, increase resources for pollinators, and reduce maintenance impacts. Importantly, the designs that rated more highly in terms of visual quality were also those that supported higher pollinator biodiversity and required relatively little water for irrigation, indicating that synergy across multiple benefits is achievable in designed landscapes. In urban landscapes, aesthetic appeal is often a top priority, and our results indicate that visual quality does not need to be sacrificed in order to design landscapes that additionally support water conservation and provide resources for pollinators.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/9/1689urban ecosystem servicesdesigned landscapestradeoffs and synergiespollinatorswater conservationcarbon footprint |
| spellingShingle | J. Amy Belaire Heather Bass Heather Venhaus Keri Barfield Tim Pannkuk Katherine Lieberknecht Shalene Jha High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments Land urban ecosystem services designed landscapes tradeoffs and synergies pollinators water conservation carbon footprint |
| title | High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments |
| title_full | High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments |
| title_fullStr | High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments |
| title_short | High-Performance Landscapes: Re-Thinking Design and Management Choices to Enhance Ecological Benefits in Urban Environments |
| title_sort | high performance landscapes re thinking design and management choices to enhance ecological benefits in urban environments |
| topic | urban ecosystem services designed landscapes tradeoffs and synergies pollinators water conservation carbon footprint |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/9/1689 |
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