Lawn Management Research Articles

Fertilizer management approaches influence nutrient leaching from residential landscapes.

Residential lawn management often includes fertilizer application to encourage healthy plant growth and support the aesthetic preferences of homeowners and communities. These inputs may negatively impact the environment by increasing nutrient export to aquatic ecosystems via surface runoff or leaching through soil into groundwater. Fertilizer management and nutrient export are of particular concern in karst areas like North-Central Florida, where the underlying karst geology leads to rapid, direct connections between surface and groundwater ecosystems. We quantified nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching from residential landscapes in North-Central Florida. We investigated nutrient leaching from landscapes spanning a real estate gradient and across different fertility treatments (no N fertilizer, synthetic mineral fertilizer, biosolids-based organic mineral fertilizer, compost topdressing, natural areas). We measured leachate from these landscapes weekly for 1 year. All residential landscapes, including control yards that received no N fertilizer, leached >10x more nitrate than natural areas, and landscapes treated with synthetic fertilizer exhibited an >80x increase in nitrate leaching. Fertilizer treatments also appeared to alter the N leaching composition, with a greater proportion of total dissolved N leaching coming from nitrate in fertilized treatments (synthetic and organic) compared to natural, control, or compost-treated landscapes. These results show that landscape management and human actions are important drivers of nutrient leaching in residential landscapes. While all residential lawns leached more N than natural areas, less leaching was associated with certain management approaches. When implemented at larger scales, these approaches may reduce the likelihood of negative impacts of residential landscapes on regional water quality.

Lawn management intensity leads to contrasting effects on belowground ecology and turfgrass aesthetic

Lawn management intensity leads to contrasting effects on belowground ecology and turfgrass aesthetic

Adding a mosaic mowing regime to urban lawns is the key to city biodiversity management for pollinators

City populations are growing rapidly, with built-up areas occupying ever-larger areas within the cities. One of the last green places in a city is urban lawns. Our study aimed to investigate how lawn management changes can contribute to improving insect pollinator biodiversity at the city scale. Over two years, we studied dozens of urban lawns in Prague (Czech Republic) that were partially left unmown, and we selected three major groups of pollinators: Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. This study showed that leaving unmown lawn areas has a strong positive effect on insect biodiversity. The high intensity of lawn flowering through the vegetation season was also crucial. Our research showed that leaving unmown parts of urban lawns is one of the key amendments to maintain or even increase pollinator biodiversity in cities. It also appears to be the best way to attract red-listed species. A significant reducing mowing frequency to achieve a higher flowering intensity should be a positive solution. So-called insect gardening by reducing urban lawn mowing frequency or leaving parts of lawns completely unmown can help not only pollinators but also other animals that find food or shelter in them. This management will also enable the propagation of flowering plants. Additionally, biodiversity measures coincide with reducing evapotranspiration and thus cooling urban heat islands.

Assessment of the Effects of Autonomous Mowers on Plant Biodiversity in Urban Lawns

Gaining information on the impact of lawn management with autonomous mowers on the floristic composition is crucial to improve their plant biodiversity. In this study, an autonomous mower with a reduced mowing frequency and a more sporadic mowing management system with a ride-on rotary mower were compared in terms of the effect on three dicotyledonous species (Phyla nodiflora, Lotus corniculatus and Sulla coronaria) transplanted onto stands of Bermuda and Manila grass. Regardless of the management system, P. nodiflora achieved the best results in terms of survival for both lawns (74.92 and 58.57% in Manila and Bermuda grass, respectively). In Bermuda grass, a higher percentage of surviving individuals was observed for the ordinary mower management system (42.59%), rather than with the autonomous mower (9.10%), while no differences emerged on Manila grass. On both Manila and Bermuda grass, a higher average percentage of coverage for single individual was observed for the ordinary mower management system (1.60 and 0.37%, respectively) compared to the autonomous mower system (0.55 and 0.08%, respectively). P. nodiflora had a higher percentage of individuals with flowers with the ordinary management system rather than with autonomous mower system both on Manila (60.73% and 33.90%, respectively) and Bermuda grass (48.66 and 3.32%, respectively). Despite a lower impact on the planted species being observed for the ordinary mower management system, encouraging results were obtained with the autonomous mower, for instance regarding the percentage of surviving individuals for P. nodiflora (33.95%) and L. corniculatus (22.08%) on Bermuda grass and the percentage of individuals with flowers for the same two species (33.90 and 13.59%, respectively) on Manila grass. Furthermore, the autonomous mower management system’s primary energy consumption over the year was lower compared to that of the ordinary system both on Manila (200.4 and 614.97 kWh ha−1 year−1, respectively) and Bermuda grass (177.82 and 510.99 kWh ha−1 year−1, respectively).

Nature-Based Management of Lawns—Enhancing Biodiversity in Urban Green Infrastructure

Urban green areas have multifunctional benefits that may mitigate unfavorable health and ecological effects. Green areas represent important biodiversity hideouts in anthropogenic regions. Lawns are the most common elements of urban greenery, covering a considerable number of green areas in cities. The aim of this analysis was to gain knowledge on urban greenery and elaborate recommendations related to management that favors grass lawn biodiversity. The established working hypothesis is that the limited intensity of management in urban grass areas is reflected in the modification of their species composition, as well as their potential ecological functions. An experiment on the management of city lawns was conducted in 2010 (still ongoing). There are three lawn variants under different management methods: ornamental, city, and permaculture lawns. Vegetation was assessed using the method of phytocoenological relevés. The coverage values of the individual plant species were processed using multidimensional analysis of ecological data. The results showed that human decisions and activities affected the species composition of these grassy areas. There were 46 plant taxa found during the monitoring: 12 in ornamental lawn variants, 24 in city lawn variants, and 31 in permaculture lawn variants. Permaculture lawns with extensive management represent the most environmentally friendly variant with respect to biodiversity and soil moisture content. However, changes in species composition have raised questions regarding the extent to which they may perform other ecosystem functions. Increasing the intensity of lawn management has resulted in lower plant diversity. Extensive management alters the aesthetic value of lawns and creates spaces for species that may spread in urban environments.

Adaptive green space management strategies for sustainable carbon sink parks

Green spaces, such as urban parks, function as carbon absorption strategies for the attainment of carbon neutrality. However, urban parks are at risk of losing their carbon absorption function based on changes in carbon flux dynamics due to climate change. Therefore, this study proposes an adaptive green space management strategy for establishing a sustainable carbon sink park by analyzing the carbon flux dynamics of urban parks. To this end, first, a system dynamics model was developed to analyze the carbon flux dynamics of city parks. Second, 10 adaptive green space management programs were established to enable the urban park to function as a carbon sink park. After evaluating the effects of the program, third, three scenarios were built according to the pursued values (ecological, social, economic). As a result of analyzing the carbon flux dynamics, the annual net carbon uptake has continuously decreased since the 2030 s. The amount of carbon uptake has decreased due to a decrease in the rate of photosynthesis, an increase in pests, and mortality. As a result, lawn area decreases, increases in broad-leaf trees, and decreases in lawn management strength were the most effective programs for increasing the carbon uptake by the following order. In addition, the ecological scenario was reported to have the highest cumulative net carbon uptake among the three scenarios. However, all programs and scenarios could not prevent urban parks from losing their carbon sink function. These results presented the flexibility of carbon flux dynamics and how climate change threatened the sustainability of carbon sink parks. According to the results of this study, an adaptive green space management program should be modified to increase carbon sequestration without degrading other functions of urban parks. A further study will be conducted to expand the system dynamics model and analyze the effects of the modified program.

Szemléletváltás a gyepelemzésben, háromdimenziós termésbecslési és minősítési módszer - Előtanulmány

From the point of view of the lawns' current existence, use and their existence for the future, but the tasks, goals and challenges of grassland management have changed, and in line with this, we have carried out surveys and developed and modified a method for fast and efficient application.
 In practice, it is very important to know the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the forage found in the pasture, as well as the exact economic value of the pasture. The purpose of this study is to present a cheap, fast, reliable and easy-to-apply estimation method.
 We took the previous methods into account and corrected and further developed them with the help of recent lawn management research results. Based on our tests, the corrected Balázs method can be used well to estimate the yield of grasslands and to determine the fodder value of the grassland. This method is cheap and requires no technical background. It also has the advantage, based on experience, that it takes into account the preference of species by animals.
 The data from the cenological survey and the height measurement of the plant stock can be used to estimate the yield, fodder value and economic value. Being a non-destructive method involving minimal trampling, it is also particularly suitable for monitoring the grassland habitat of protected plants and animals. The method is also presented on a sample example, which proves its applicability.

Különböző gyepkezelések hatásának cönológiai és természetvédelmi vizsgálati eredményei üde gyepen

In grassland management systems, the various agrotechnical elements have to be used in many cases on "primitive grasslands", where the coordination of agricultural and nature conservation tasks is necessary. Here, animal husbandry is the main aspect, which includes the long-term preservation of the quality of the pasture, as well as the most economical use of the pasture and keeping the animals as cheap as possible. The tests were carried out on a grassy area on the border of the settlement of Aba. We examined the vegetation of 8 plots of the same size in the area and the quantitative and qualitative composition of the biomass produced there. In this thesis, we provide data on the vegetation composition and evaluation of the following treatments. The plots and treatments were as follows: I. plot-ventilated; II. parcel-relaxed; III. plot loosened and ventilated; ARC. parcel control; V. plot-ventilated and 15 t/ha manure; VI. plot loosened and 15 t/ha manure; VII. plot loosened, ventilated and 15 t/ha manure; VIII. plot loosened, ventilated and 30 t/ha manure. In each plot, 5 ceenological recordings were made using 4 x 4 m quadrats. The estimated coverage of each species was given in %, taking into account the proportion of grasslands and other species. Among Borhidi's plant ecological indicators, the species were evaluated based on the NB (relative values of nitrogen demand) and WB (relative soil water and soil moisture indicator numbers). The social behavior types (SZMT) were also defined based on Borhidi's work, and the nature conservation value categories (TVK) were defined according to Simon. The lifestyle analysis was performed based on Pignatti's lifestyle types. Based on the data, the composition of the vegetation of each plot changed significantly compared to the data of the control plot IV. A direct proportionality can be discovered between the increase in the cover value of the dominant lawn grasses, primarily Festuca arundinacea, Dactylis glomerata, Alopecurus pratensis, and Fabaeceae species (e.g. Lathyrus tuberosus, Lotus corniculatus) and the amount of applied nutrients. Based on the coenological survey of the eight examined areas, the control area (IV.) showed the most natural state, which was confirmed by the species composition and number of species. The IV. plots are close to I., II. and III. for plot recordings, which proves that aeration and loosening do not worsen the condition of the lawn, but rather promote the preservation of its natural state. The VII-VIII. plots have the smallest number of species, but based on the life form spectrum, naturalness indicators, nature conservation value categories and social behavior types, they are not very disturbed habitats. No significant difference can be detected between the effect of lawn loosening and lawn aeration, but III. plot, where both treatments were carried out, was closer to the control area. Regarding the effect of the lawn management methods, it was possible to produce a starting data set in the long term (with the same environmental conditions). Overall, the study gave valuable results regarding the age of change occurring during the application of different lawn management methods, and was also effective from an economic point of view.

Lólegelők és kaszálók természetvédelmi értékelése Sukoró melletti lovasközpontban

The test was carried out in Sukoró, on the lawns of the Sukoró Equestrian Center in May 2023. The purpose of the survey was to present the natural state and economic value of grasslands with different uses. The ceenological surveys were carried out using the Braun-Blanquet method, during which we recorded the data using 2x2 meter squares and gave the cover values in %. The squares were placed randomly in the given areas. During the survey, we analyzed five sample areas in three units. Our sample area I. is degraded fresh grassland, which was a horse pasture that was overgrazed in 2023, II. the sample area was a meadow dominated by sedge, which is utilized by mowing. The III. the sample area is Siki lawn dominated by Festuca pseudovina, which was also mowed. The IV. the deepest part of the mowing area, marsh meadow-fen, which is also used as a mowing area. Sample area V is silicate rock grassland, which is also grazed by horses, but was left alone in 2023. With the exception of sample area I, which was intensively grazed in 2023, and therefore overgrazed by trampling, based on the tests, the natural state of the lawns remained valuable even after treatments, mowing and grazing. In the lawns, the largest proportion of elements of the native flora can be found. In the deeper spot on the mowing field, bog elements and the protected species Anacampts pyramidalis also appeared. A protected species, Allium sphaerocephalon, also occurred in the silicate rock lawn. The lawn management methods carried out by the riding center are suitable for maintaining the area's vegetation in a close-to-nature and long-term manner.

Collembola (Isotomidae) and mowing management practices control distinct aspects of thatch decomposition in a lawn mesocosm experiment

Soil mesofauna, such as Collembola and mites, are important decomposers in many ecosystems. In lawns, soil mesofauna have been implicated in the decomposition of thatch, an unsightly and problematic by-product of management found in many urban grasslands. In this study, we utilized a model lawn mesocosm experiment and ubiquitous soil mesofauna (Collembola: Isotomidae) to understand their role in thatch decomposition under a variety of simulated lawn management conditions. Our results showed that Collembola enhanced thatch decomposition by 6–8% over Collembola-absent treatments, with clipping additions moderating, and in some cases diminishing the role of Collembola in thatch decomposition. This finding was likely caused by substrate switching in the presence of clippings, and Collembola and clipping additions favoring unique aspects of microbial decomposition: Collembola enhanced oxidative enzymes, enhanced microbial biomass carbon, and marginally reduced microbial respiration, which are associated with oligotrophic microbes. Clipping additions generally increased hydrolytic enzymes, had little effect on microbial biomass, and enhanced respiration, which are associated with copiotrophic microbes. These contrasting results highlight the nuanced effects of soil mesofauna in enhancing thatch decomposition and suggest that management decisions related to lawn mowing may be equally important in mitigating thatch in lawns.

Evapotranspiration of Residential Lawns Across the United States

AbstractDespite interest in the contribution of evapotranspiration (ET) of residential turfgrass lawns to household and municipal water budgets across the United States, the spatial and temporal variability of residential lawn ET across large scales is highly uncertain. We measured instantaneous ET (ETinst) of lawns in 79 residential yards in six metropolitan areas: Baltimore, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis‐St. Paul (mesic climates), Los Angeles and Phoenix (arid climates). Each yard had one of four landscape types and management practices: traditional lawn‐dominated yards with high or low fertilizer input, yards with water‐conserving features, and yards with wildlife‐friendly features. We measured ETinst in situ during the growing season using portable chambers and identified environmental and anthropogenic factors controlling ET in residential lawns. For each household, we used ETinst to estimate daily ET of the lawn (ETdaily) and multiplied ETdaily by the lawn area to estimate the total volume of water lost through ET of the lawn (ETvol). ETdaily varied from 0.9 ± 0.4 mm d1 in mesic cities to 2.9 ± 0.7 mm d−1 in arid cities. Neither ETinst nor ETdaily was significantly influenced by yard landscape types and ETinst patterns indicated that lawns may be largely decoupled from regional rain‐driven climate patterns. ETvol ranged from ∼0 L d−1 to over 2,000 L d−1, proportionally increasing with lawn area. Current irrigation and lawn management practices did not necessarily result in different ETinst or ETdaily among traditional, water‐conserving, or wildlife‐friendly yards, but smaller lawn areas in water‐conserving and wildlife‐friendly yards resulted in lower ETvol.

Ecological homogenization of soil properties in the American residential macrosystem

AbstractThe conversion of native ecosystems to residential ecosystems dominated by lawns has been a prevailing land‐use change in the United States over the past 70 years. Similar development patterns and management of residential ecosystems cause many characteristics of residential ecosystems to be more similar to each other across broad continental gradients than that of former native ecosystems. For instance, similar lawn management by irrigation and fertilizer applications has the potential to influence soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools and processes. We evaluated the mean and variability of total soil C and N stocks, potential net N mineralization and nitrification, soil nitrite (NO2−)/nitrate (NO3−) and ammonium (NH4+) pools, microbial biomass C and N content, microbial respiration, bulk density, soil pH, and moisture content in residential lawns and native ecosystems in six metropolitan areas across a broad climatic gradient in the United States: Baltimore, MD (BAL); Boston, MA (BOS); Los Angeles, CA (LAX); Miami, FL (MIA); Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN (MSP); and Phoenix, AZ (PHX). We observed evidence of higher N cycling in lawn soils, including significant increases in soil NO2−/NO3−, microbial N pools, and potential net nitrification, and significant decreases in NH4+pools. Self‐reported yard fertilizer application in the previous year was linked with increased NO2−/ NO3−content and decreases in total soil N and C content. Self‐reported irrigation in the previous year was associated with decreases in potential net mineralization and potential net nitrification and with increases in bulk density and pH. Residential topsoil had higher total soil C than native topsoil, and microbial biomass C was markedly higher in residential topsoil in the two driest cities (LAX and PHX). Coefficients of variation for most biogeochemical metrics were higher in native soils than in residential soils across all cities, suggesting that residential development homogenizes soil properties and processes at the continental scale.

Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities for Improved Lawn Weed Management: Insights from U.S. Lawn Care Operators

Lawns provide valuable ecological, economic and social services. Both the quantity and quality of the turfgrass affect the level of the services delivered. Unwanted weed infestations can degrade lawn quality and decrease the value of these services for lawn users and others. For example, Brosnan et al. reported that athletic fields with weed cover not only decreased aesthetic quality but also resulted in increased surface hardness and a concomitant increase in potential athlete injuries and soil erosion. Contemporary research pertaining to pest influences on lawn quality and management responses is sparse. We hope to begin filling that gap with findings from a recent study of U.S. lawn care operators about the challenges and opportunities omanaging Poa annua, an emergent threat to sustainable lawn management (USDA-NIFA Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) Grants Program (award #: 2018-51181-28436). Estimates for residential- and commercial-lawn cover in the United States (U.S.) range from 58,000 km2 to 120,000 km2 with total turfgrass cover (inclusive of golf courses, parks, schools, roadsides) estimated at 163,800 km2. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimated that there are 20,436 km2 of grassed rights of way (roadsides) in the U.S. The total U.S. urban area in 2010 was estimated at 802,053 km2. Together, we can estimate turf cover between 7 and 18% of U.S urban areas, including lawns as the primary turf surface along with parks, athletic fields, golf courses, and roadsides. The professional lawn care industry employed 295,000 workers and represented an $18.5 billion market value in 2002. Despite its size, the U.S. lawn care industry defies simple characterization in part due to its heterogeneity. Lawns may provide valuable ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, water infiltration, and moderation of the urban heat-island effect as well as aesthetics and open space for recreation. Apart from offering economic and ecological services, lawns and their management can be an important component of community social character and culture. Effective weed management in lawns assures sustainable delivery of all of these services, such that lawns are uniform and free from potentially troublesome weed species, such as Poa annua which ranks as the #1 most troublesome weed in turfgrass systems.

Improved Pesticide Product Labeling Information for Household Lawn Management: Recommended Safe Durations in Support of Minimizing Children’s Exposure to Pesticides

Improved Pesticide Product Labeling Information for Household Lawn Management: Recommended Safe Durations in Support of Minimizing Children’s Exposure to Pesticides

Relating Knowledge and Perception of Sustainable Landscape Practices to the Adoption Intention of Environmentally Friendly Landscapes

The influence of traditional residential landscapes on humans and the environment has provoked a discussion on maintaining landscapes in a sustainable way and conserving water resources. Traditional American landscapes require water-intensive management. Previous research has discussed potential negative impacts on the environment from prevalent improper landscaping maintenance techniques. To mitigate long-term consequences, sustainable landscape management programs aim at protecting the environment from harmful inputs and conserving water. Among alternative practices, converting fully turfgrass lawns to sustainable landscapes is recommended. The Florida Friendly Landscaping (FFLTM) initiative is one such program designed to minimize negative impacts while maintaining and improving landscapes’ aesthetic characteristics. Although technological advancements in lawn care services have rapidly developed in the past few decades (e.g., smart irrigation systems), the level of homeowners’ knowledge and perceptions regarding sustainable practices are still at the forefront of potential factors that influence the widespread adoption of sustainable lawn management. Relatively few studies have investigated how homeowners’ knowledge and perceptions of sustainable landscapes affect adoption decisions. This study adapted Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior as a framework to examine how individuals’ knowledge and perceptions of sustainable landscapes influence their adoption intention, and to predict their pro-environmental behavior. We found that homeowners’ knowledge about lawns and landscapes (more knowledgeable) is positively correlated with their sustainable landscape adoption intention. Additionally, homeowners’ perceptions of landscape conservation practices (more agreeable with sustainable landscape practices) are positively correlated with sustainable landscape adoption intentions. The implications for policymakers and water conservation programs are discussed.

Improvement of simulating sub-daily hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns in the SWAT model

Rain barrels/cisterns, a popular type of low impact development (LID) practice, can restore urban hydrological processes and decrease municipal water use by harvesting roof runoff for later use, such as landscape irrigation. However, tools to assist decision makers in creating efficient rainwater harvesting and reuse strategies are limited. This study improved the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in simulating the subdaily hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns, including the simulation of rainwater harvesting with rain barrels/cisterns, rainwater reuse for auto landscape irrigation, evapotranspiration, initial abstraction, impervious area, soil profile, and lawn management operation. The improved SWAT was applied in the urbanized Brentwood watershed (Austin, TX) to evaluate its applicability and investigate the impacts of rainwater harvesting and reuse strategies on the reductions and reduction efficiencies (reductions per volume of rain barrels/cisterns implemented) of field scale runoff (peak and depth) and watershed scale streamflow (peak and volume) for two storm events. Scenarios explored included different sizes of rain barrels/cisterns, percentages of rooftop areas with rain barrels/cisterns implemented, auto landscape irrigation rates, and landscape irrigation starting times. The performance of rainwater harvesting and reuse strategies, which is determined by features of fields, watersheds, and storm events, varied for different reduction goals (streamflow or runoff, and peak or depth/volume). For instance, the scenario with rain barrel/cistern sizes of 7.5 mm (design runoff depth from treated roof area) and the scenario with 10% of suitable area implemented with rain barrels/cisterns provided the highest peak streamflow reduction efficiency and total streamflow volume reduction efficiency at the watershed scale, respectively for the smaller storm event. To achieve sustainable urban stormwater management, the improved SWAT model has enhanced capability to help stakeholders create efficient rainwater harvesting and reuse strategies to reduce field scale runoff and watershed scale streamflow.

A screening model for managing periodic pesticide application in residential lawn soils

To improve our understanding of the fate of pesticides after household applications and to promote lawn management practices, we have introduced a periodic modeling framework that can be simplified using a weighted approximate approach. The comparisons of the periodic model and approximate method using regular rainfall or irrigation conditions demonstrate the validity of the approximate method; based on this, the overall weighted specific loss rate and half-lives of over 3,000 organic compounds were derived. The half-lives derived from the approximate approach can be conveniently used to estimate the pesticide concentrations that remain in lawn soils. For example, over 1,500 organic compounds have estimated half-lives below 7.0 days, indicating that their concentrations will be below at least 1/16 of the initial concentrations in soils if the applications follow a monthly pattern. The model results for two common herbicides, glyphosate and 2,4-D, indicated that when following the manufacturer's suggestions, the pesticide concentration in the soil may not cause the adverse health effects modeled by the children's ingestion exposure route. For example, based on a monthly application pattern of 230 mg m−2 per event, the average concentration of glyphosate was far below the simulated safe level of 12,000 mg kg−1, even on the days immediately after the glyphosate application. However, the simulated concentrations in the lawn soils were larger than some legal limits for glyphosate in the residential soils. Although this simple model requires further validation and improvements using field data, we hope that it will help to improve future pesticide management for lawn soils.

What Do They Know and What Do They DO? A National Evaluation of Landscape Integrated Pest Management Knowledge and Use in the United States

Abstract Individual residents in the United States increasingly practice do-it-yourself pest management in their lawns and gardens. This self-managed pest control is frequently characterized by unnecessary and sometimes indiscriminate applications of pesticide that are often ineffective and environmentally damaging. Given residential consumers account for most of the world’s pesticide expenditures, the need to increase adoption of IPM best practices is critical. Through its education and technical training programming, we argue that Cooperative Extension is uniquely positioned to nudge residential DIY pest management away from an exclusive reliance on pesticide application and towards IPM best practices. To assess how best to encourage an increase in IPM adoption, we examined the relationship between an individual user’s knowledge of IPM practices and adoption of IPM behavior. Survey results from individual residents responsible for their lawn and garden management indicate that where there is high knowledge of IPM best practices, there appears to be a strong likelihood of behavior adoption. Results also show, however, that a significant number of respondents have little to no knowledge of IPM. To address this gap, we argue for the need to increase IPM-related education and provide recommendations for future research.

Ecological and economic benefits of low‐intensity urban lawn management

Abstract 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.

Climate and lawn management interact to control C4 plant distribution in residential lawns across seven U.S. cities.

In natural grasslands, C4 plant dominance increases with growing season temperatures and reflects distinct differences in plant growth rates and water use efficiencies of C3 vs. C4 photosynthetic pathways. However, in lawns, management decisions influence interactions between planted turfgrass and weed species, leading to some uncertainty about the degree of human vs. climatic controls on lawn species distributions. We measured herbaceous plant carbon isotope ratios (δ13 C, index of C3 /C4 relative abundance) and C4 cover in residential lawns across seven U.S. cities to determine how climate, lawn plant management, or interactions between climate and plant management influenced C4 lawn cover. We also calculated theoretical C4 carbon gain predicted by a plant physiological model as an index of expected C4 cover due to growing season climatic conditions in each city. Contrary to theoretical predictions, plant δ13 C and C4 cover in urban lawns were more strongly related to mean annual temperature than to growing season temperature. Wintertime temperatures influenced the distribution of C4 lawn turf plants, contrary to natural ecosystems where growing season temperatures primarily drive C4 distributions. C4 cover in lawns was greatest in the three warmest cities, due to an interaction between climate and homeowner plant management (e.g., planting C4 turf species) in these cities. The proportion of C4 lawn species was similar to the proportion of C4 species in the regional grass flora. However, the majority of C4 species were nonnative turf grasses, and not of regional origin. While temperature was a strong control on lawn species composition across the United States, cities differed as to whether these patterns were driven by cultivated lawn grasses vs. weedy species. In some cities, biotic interactions with weedy plants appeared to dominate, while in other cities, C4 plants were predominantly imported and cultivated. Elevated CO2 and temperature in cities can influence C3 /C4 competitive outcomes; however, this study provides evidence that climate and plant management dynamics influence biogeography and ecology of C3 /C4 plants in lawns. Their differing water and nutrient use efficiency may have substantial impacts on carbon, water, energy, and nutrient budgets across cities.