Urban Yards Research Articles

Optimizing the co-benefits of biodiversity and carbon sinks in urban residential yards

Urban green infrastructure is recognized for its potential to combat biodiversity loss and enhance carbon sequestration in cities. While residential yards constitute a significant part of urban green infrastructure, their role in providing urban ecosystem services remains largely understated. There is a lack of systematic measures for effectively implementing urban vegetation to enhance ecosystem services. The aim of this study is to investigate how different vegetation types typically found in urban residential yards of apartment blocks can enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and how these benefits can be supported through landscape design. The study encompasses an integrative literature review and qualitative analysis. Drawing from a review of previous research, this study identifies the drivers that indicate either carbon sink potential or biodiversity enhancement potential of urban vegetation types. The drivers are then cross-examined to identify the qualities of urban green that potentially strengthen carbon–biodiversity co-benefits. As the key findings we present versatile measures to enhance the potential co-benefits of carbon sinks and biodiversity within urban yards and summarize them in three main categories: plant diversity, provision of good growing conditions and maintenance. The study stresses that the several potential co-benefits of urban green can only be achieved through the selection and prioritization of solutions during the planning and design process. To exemplify this, we demonstrate how the findings from the literature review can be incorporated into the design and management of urban yards. We conclude that the main actions to be addressed in the future planning and design of urban residential yards are (i) establishing diverse planting areas with a mixture of woody and herbaceous plants to encourage species richness and complexity, (ii) optimizing the use of space and growth conditions, and, (iii) implementing maintenance practices that consider both carbon and biodiversity aspects. The study highlights that through enhancing carbon-biodiversity co-benefits urban yards can significantly contribute to major environmental challenges and provide vital ecosystem services within the built urban environments.

Supplementary feeding of birds during the winter influences measures of avian community structure in yards in a subtropical city.

Supplementary feeding, the intentional provision of food to wild birds is a common activity in developed nations during the winter. The energy inputs represented by supplementary feeding are vast, and thus it is likely an important mechanism shaping bird communities in urban areas. However, research in this regard has mainly occurred in temperate and non-urban settings. Moreover, few studies have been informed by supplementary feeding habits of local community members limiting their inference. We evaluated the effects of two commonly provided wild bird foods on the abundance and species diversity of birds in yards over two winters in San Antonio, Texas, United States, a city located in a subtropical region. We used a reversed Before-After-Control-Impact experimental design in which yards were randomly allocated either mixed seed, Nyjer, or no food (control) between November 2019 and March 2020 (Year One). Between November 2020 and March 2021 (Year Two) supplementary food was not provided in any yards. Point counts conducted during both years of the study revealed that overall bird abundance was consistent between years in control yards and yards provided with Nyjer. In contrast, overall bird abundance was statistically significantly higher when supplementary food was present in mixed seed yards, driven by an increase in granivorous and omnivorous species. In contrast, supplementary feeding had no statistically significant effect on the abundance of insectivorous species or on species diversity, although species diversity tended to be higher in the presence of mixed seed. Our study demonstrates that wild bird food commonly provided by community members influences measures of avian community structure during the winter in urban yards in a subtropical city. However, these results depend on the type of bird food provided. Our results provide insight into the processes underlying the effects of urbanization on bird communities, and thus have implications for the management of urban birds more broadly.

Analisis Karakteristik Responden Dalam Penentuan Sistem Irigasi Dalam Organic Urban Farming

Urban yards can be used for organic urban farming by growing vegetables without the use of chemicals. By doing this, the need for nutritious and healthy food at the family level can be met. One of the disadvantages of growing vegetables in the yard is neglecting plant care, especially watering. This causes the plants to lack water and the resulting vegetables wilt and even die. A drip irrigation system using either a hose or emitter can be applied to meet plant water needs. However, the characteristics of organic urban farming actors have an impact on the choice of irrigation type applied in their respective yards. Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyze the characteristics of respondents and identify the considerations of respondents in determining the type of irrigation used. The analytical method used is descriptive qualitative. The research results showed that the majority of respondents were of productive age, with the highest level of education being high school, and the type of work was as workers (civil servants, private sector and entrepreneurs). Considerations in determining the type of irrigation are the level of complexity, availability of time, ease of implementation.

Urban yards as potential conservation space: large, diverse gardens may be valuable resource patches for butterflies

Urban yards as potential conservation space: large, diverse gardens may be valuable resource patches for butterflies

Motivation of Farmer Group Members in Implementing an Urban Farming Program in Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta residents are enthusiastic about joining farmer groups utilizing urban yards by executing the Lorong Sayur (vegetable alley) program. Members of the farmer groups realize the potential for expanding urban farming in confined spaces like narrow alleys and other such locations. This study aims to determine the level of motivation and the factors affecting the motivation of urban farmer group members in implementing the Lorong Sayur program in Yogyakarta. The research was purposively conducted in Yogyakarta, precisely in the Districts of Umbulharjo, Danurejan, and Kotagede. Fifty-five respondents were selected using multistage random sampling. Both primary and secondary data, obtained through interviews utilizing questionnaires, observation, and documentation, were employed. The data were analyzed using a Likert scale and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Three needs from Clayton Alderfer’s ERG theory have been proven to predict motivation: the need for existence fell in the medium category, and both the needs for relatedness and growth belonged to the high category. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient discovered that income, frequency of counseling attendance, the agricultural extension workers’ role, and the role of farmer group leaders were all significantly related to urban farmer group members’ motivation to implement the Lorong Sayur program.

Empowerment of urban communities in utilizing small courtyards with hydroponic technology

Hydroponic technology is one way to grow crops on a small piece of land. Homes in urban areas can use this approach. The purpose of this community service is to increase the role of members of the Women Farmers Group (KWT) in the use of small urban yards using hydroponic technology, especially for KWT Agro 40 in Pilahan Village, Kotagede, Yogyakarta City. In this program, the empowerment of group members is achieved through counseling, training on demonstration plots, mentoring, oversight, and evaluation. Members of KWT Agro 40 are knowledgeable and skilled in using their yard to grow vegetables using hydroponic methods, allowing them to use their yard to improve family nutrition and income. This community service resulted in one hydroponic installation with the NFT system (Nutrient Film Technique) and 5 hydroponic installations with the wick system. Hydroponics technology made with the NFT system is placed in the group garden, while for hydroponics with the wick system it is placed in the group garden and in the homes of KWT members. The harvest from this hydroponic technology can meet the needs of healthy and nutritious vegetables and can reduce family expenses.

Risk of tick-borne pathogen spillover into urban yards in New York City

BackgroundThe incidence of tick-borne disease has increased dramatically in recent decades, with urban areas increasingly recognized as high-risk environments for exposure to infected ticks. Green spaces may play a key role in facilitating the invasion of ticks, hosts and pathogens into residential areas, particularly where they connect residential yards with larger natural areas (e.g. parks). However, the factors mediating tick distribution across heterogeneous urban landscapes remain poorly characterized.MethodsUsing generalized linear models in a multimodel inference framework, we determined the residential yard- and local landscape-level features associated with the presence of three tick species of current and growing public health importance in residential yards across Staten Island, a borough of New York City, in the state of New York, USA.ResultsThe amount and configuration of canopy cover immediately surrounding residential yards was found to strongly predict the presence of Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum, but not that of Haemaphysalis longicornis. Within yards, we found a protective effect of fencing against I. scapularis and A. americanum, but not against H. longicornis. For all species, the presence of log and brush piles strongly increased the odds of finding ticks in yards.ConclusionsThe results highlight a considerable risk of tick exposure in residential yards in Staten Island and identify both yard- and landscape-level features associated with their distribution. In particular, the significance of log and brush piles for all three species supports recommendations for yard management as a means of reducing contact with ticks.Graphical

Hurricane driven changes in vegetation structure and ecosystem services in tropical urban yards: a study case in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Urban forests are valuable spaces for species conservation, protection of local biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. However, they are also vulnerable to the impact of extreme climate events like hurricanes. Understanding how urban forests are responding to hurricane disturbances is crucial to improve their design, management, and resilience. Here we analyzed pre-and post-hurricane vegetation surveys in 52 residential yards in San Juan to assess urban forest responses after Hurricanes Irma and María impacted Puerto Rico in 2017. We used these surveys to compare vegetation structure and composition (including species-specific mortality and damage rates) and to quantify changes in the ecosystem services provided by these yards. We found that hurricane disturbances significantly altered the structure but not the composition of yard vegetation. We detected a 27% reduction and 31% mortality of standing stems, and a significant reduction in plants health. Yard species composition was dominated by non-native species and this trend did not change with hurricane disturbance. Changes in vegetation structure translated into substantial reductions in ecosystem services. Food provision, an important service provided by a large proportion of yards before the hurricane, reported the highest reduction (41.9%) while carbon storage was the service that changed the least (9%). Our combined results emphasize the key role played by residential yards providing ecosystem services in tropical cities and call for further efforts to manage private and public urban forests in ways that may ensure their resilience to mitigate extreme climate events, provide multiple ecosystem services, and promote long-term urban sustainability.

Biotic homogenization or riparian refugia? Urban and wild land snail assemblages along a subtropical precipitation gradient

Abstract A noted impact of urbanization is the tendency for biotic homogenization, or the increase of similarity of geographically disparate communities. On the other hand, some urban habitats harbor biodiversity native to their region, a role potentially important in xeric landscapes, with irrigation increasing the coverage and availability of mesic habitats in an otherwise water-limited landscape. We assessed the relative importance of urban yards as agents of biotic homogenization or riparian refugia by characterizing community composition of Tamaulipan thornforest land snail assemblages across a pronounced precipitation gradient in far south Texas, USA. We quantified α- and β-diversity and assessed whether the land snail fauna of urban yards are more similar to each other across a precipitation gradient than they are to their wild counterparts, as well as determined the significance of moisture in driving Tamaulipan thornforest β-diversity, both in terms of turnover (changing species composition) and nestedness (species loss). Sites with both the wild and wet conditions had the highest values of species richness and abundance. Urban land snail communities were significantly homogenized, outweighing the influence of the precipitation gradient. We did not find urban yards served as a refuge for native, moisture-dependent, riparian snails. Our analyses find that turnover, not nestedness, is the largest contributor to β-diversity in these assemblages. Studies of urbanization should address regional spatial scales to quantify how urbanization modifies regional biodiversity arising from background environmental gradients. Such an approach could lead to improved understanding of how large metroplex areas could be used to maintain and even promote biodiversity.

The motivation of farmer group members in utilizing urban yards in covid-19 pandemic in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia

During the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in people using their yards in urban areas. This study aims to describe the motivation of farmer group members in using urban yards during the Covid-19 pandemic and analyze their motivation factors. The research was conducted in Yogyakarta City by determining a sample of 45 farmer group members using multistage random sampling. Descriptive analysis was applied to describe the motivation of farmer group members in using urban yards during the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysis of the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient was implemented to analyze their motivation factors. This study unveiled that the motivation of farmer group members in utilizing urban yards seen from the motivation of existence, relatedness, and growth belonged to the high category. The results of the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient analysis revealed that motivation factors of the farmer group members comprised age and the role of the group leader, extension workers, and information technology.

Cues to care: future directions for ecological landscapes

The design of urban yards is key to reducing natural resource consumption in cities. However, going from turf lawns and ornamental plants to more native vegetation with structural complexity is contingent on public acceptance. Addressing social/cultural values is important and landscape designers frequently point to the need for yards to be designed with human intent, or ‘cues to care’. Cues to care studies have explored what kinds of designs and maintenance practices indicate that a landscape meets cultural expectations of standards for maintenance. The intent is to create more ecological landscapes, but research on cues to care has been sparse and results are often misinterpreted. In this perspective essay, I review past empirical studies in the U.S. and Canada, discuss the evolution of cues to care concept, and provide future synergies between landscapes that are aesthetically appealing and provide ecological benefit.

Horticultural availability and homeowner preferences drive plant diversity and composition in urban yards.

Understanding the factors that influence biodiversity in urban areas is important for informing management efforts aimed at enhancing the ecosystem services in urban settings and curbing the spread of invasive introduced species. We determined the ecological and socioeconomic factors that influence patterns of plant richness, phylogenetic diversity, and composition in 133 private household yards in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan area, Minnesota, USA. We compared the composition of spontaneously occurring plant species and those planted by homeowners with composition in natural areas (at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve) and in the horticulture pool of species available from commercial growers. Yard area and fertilizer frequency influenced species richness of the spontaneous species but expressed homeowner values did not. In contrast, the criteria that homeowners articulated as important in their management decisions, including aesthetics, wildlife, neatness and food provision, significantly predicted cultivated species richness. Strikingly, the composition of plant species that people cultivated in their yards resembled the taxonomic and phylogenetic composition of species available commercially. In contrast, the taxonomic and phylogenetic composition of spontaneous species showed high similarity to natural areas. The large fraction of introduced species that homeowners planted was a likely consequence of what was available for them to purchase. The study links the composition and diversity of yard flora to their natural and anthropogenic sources and sheds light on the human factors and values that influence the plant diversity in residential areas of a major urban system. Enhanced understanding of the influences of the sources of plants, both native and introduced, that enter urban systems and the human factors and values that influence their diversity is critical to identifying the levers to manage urban biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Biogeochemical and socioeconomic drivers of above- and below-ground carbon stocks in urban residential yards of a small city

Research on patterns of below-ground carbon (C) storage in urban lawns has focused on biogeochemical mechanisms, with human activities playing an important but somewhat secondary role. By contrast, studies of above-ground vegetation in urban areas have emphasized socioeconomic factors that influence greenness, abundance, and diversity, without explicitly considering biogeochemical mechanisms. Here we examine how both biogeochemical and socioeconomic factors influence patterns of C storage in urban yards both above- and below-ground. We combined measurements of above- and below-ground C stocks in 36 lawns located in the small city (<200,000 residents) of Manchester, New Hampshire, USA with a suite of indicators such as housing age, population density, median income, home value, and residence duration that we obtained from public assessment databases, the decennial census, and the American Community Survey. We found that for this small city, housing age was the only variable that was significant and positively correlated with soil C stocks. Median income, median resident age, and percent married couples were significant and positively related with above-ground biomass C, with housing age playing a secondary role. The disparity that we observed in how biogeochemical and socioeconomic factors shape the distribution of C stocks in urban yards highlights the need for management approaches tailored to sequestering C in above- versus below-ground pools. Understanding the C dynamics of small cities is critical to ensuring that urban areas of all sizes can enhance urban C storage and minimize urban C loss.

Milestone solution for snow removal problem in Moscow

The main principle of the strategy for the complex improvement of the functioning of northern cities in winter, including their infrastructure development, is a comprehensive solution of the problem of industrial-scale snow-mass collection, removal and utilization at different areas of urban roadway networks. For its implementation in the capital of Russia, “MosvodokanalNIIproject” JSC developed in 2002 the Snow Removal Master Plan for the city of Moscow. The meteorological conditions in the city, which have changed considerably in the recent years, including the changes in the snow-cover depth and in the road-surface areas to be cleaned, as well as emerging of new technologies for the cleaning of urban streets, yards and sidewalks and some new types of deicing agents, resulted in the necessity to update the above-mentioned Snow Removal Master Plan developed for the city of Moscow. Efficient application of deicing agents is of special importance for its updating in the context of the environmental safety of the city in a winter period. The article considers the results of the implementation of the updated Snow Removal Master Plan and contains some proposals concerning snow removal under the conditions of extreme snowfalls.

Living pharmacy in urban yards: Health care in the Amazon

O Grupo de Pesquisa em Etnobotânica da Amazônia da Universidade Estadual do Pará, vem estudando o uso de várias espécies vegetais por comunidades tradicionais para o tratamento e cura de doenças. Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar as plantas medicinais mais utilizadas presentes nos quintais do Bairro Mutirão, Abaetetuba, Pará, Brasil, a fim correlacionar dados etnofarmacológicos com estudos fitoquímicos, avaliando a contribuição dessas espécies para promover a saúde em comunidades pobres da Amazônia. A pesquisa se deu por meio de observações não participantes, entrevistas semiestruturadas e visitas guiadas em 189 quintais. Informações fitoquímicas foram coletadas das bases ScienceDirect, Scinfinder, Scopus, DataPlant, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Foram identificadas 46 espécies terapêuticas, das quais Aloe vera L. Burman. f.; Anacardium occidentale L.; Bixa orellana L.; Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers.; Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex P. Wilson e Morinda citrifolia L., foram observadas na literatura científica como potencial antitumoral, calmante, anti-inflamatório e antimicrobiano, confirmando seu uso etnofarmacológico pelos moradores em Abaetetuba. A flora medicinal em torno de casas na Amazônia mantém a diversidade de plantas em ambientes urbanizados, contribuindo potencialmente para a descoberta de novas drogas.

Drivers of plant species richness and phylogenetic composition in urban yards at the continental scale

As urban areas increase in extent globally, domestic yards play an increasingly important role as potential contributors to ecosystem services and well-being. These benefits largely depend on the plant species richness and composition of yards. We aim to determine the factors that drive plant species richness and phylogenetic composition of cultivated and spontaneous flora in urban yards at the continental scale, and how these potential drivers interact. We analyzed plant species richness and phylogenetic composition of cultivated and spontaneous flora of 117 private yards from six major metropolitan areas in the US. Yard plant species richness and phylogenetic composition were expressed as a function of biophysical and socioeconomic variables and yard characteristics using linear mixed-effects models and spatially explicit structural equation modeling. Extreme temperatures largely determined yard species richness and phylogenetic composition at the continental scale. Precipitation positively predicted spontaneous richness but negatively predicted cultivated richness. Only the phylogenetic composition of the spontaneous flora was associated with precipitation. The effect of lower temperatures and precipitation on all yard diversity parameters was partly mediated by yard area. Among various socioeconomic variables, only education level showed a significant effect on cultivated phylogenetic composition. Our results support the hypothesis that irrigation compensates for precipitation in driving cultivated yard plant diversity at the continental scale. Socioeconomic variables among middle and upper class families have no apparent influence on yard diversity. These findings inform the adaptation of US urban vegetation in cities in the face of global change.

Homogenization of plant diversity, composition, and structure in North American urban yards

AbstractUrban ecosystems are widely hypothesized to be more ecologically homogeneous than natural ecosystems. We argue that urban plant communities assemble from a complex mix of horticultural and regional species pools, and evaluate the homogenization hypothesis by comparing cultivated and spontaneously occurring urban vegetation to natural area vegetation across seven major U.S. cities. There was limited support for homogenization of urbandiversity, as the cultivated and spontaneous yard flora had greater numbers of species than natural areas, and cultivated phylogenetic diversity was also greater. However, urban yards showed evidence of homogenization ofcompositionandstructure. Yards were compositionally more similar across regions than were natural areas, and tree density was less variable in yards than in comparable natural areas. This homogenization of biodiversity likely reflects similar horticultural source pools, homeowner preferences, and management practices across U.S. cities.

Connective Tissues: Everyday Engagements with Urban Yards

This photo essay is rooted in the overlapping edges of urban environmentalisms, the politics of care, and everyday microgeographies of cultivation and inhabitation. The essay offers situated and partial views into yards in Minneapolis, Minnesota, made during several years of research with residents in their yards. Here, yards constitute often overlooked connective tissue for residential landscapes—both territorially, and also relationally. I pair images I made with text—not as objective or neutral illustration, but as part of a search for modes of address adequate to circulations of affect, power, difference, and care. There are many possibilities, as well as pressing reasons, to imagine yards relationally. My research investigates how yards do social and political work as affective realms of embodied engagements, skill, and practice within collective capacities for handling difference, emotion, care, and experimentation.

Side Setback Areas as Side Yards Architectural and Psychological Evaluation of Side Setback Areas in Residential Buildings Using a Multidimensional Measure – Case Study of Sapporo Neighbourhoods, Japan

In urban environments, front yards and backyards are valued by residents for the opportunities they provide for enriching residential activities and promoting neighbourly ties. This article extends previous inquiries to identify the preferred uses and attributes of side setback areas in a comparatively dense urban environment. While front yards or backyards may contribute to sociability, no such effects have been reported for the side setback areas, with their function being instrumental rather than social. On the basis of a 2013 survey, the average side setback area in Sapporo (Japan) is <2 m wide and its typical use is for storage. A series of cross-statistical analyses was used to investigate possible correlations and to predict the role of the physical attributes of adjacent facades on the perceptions of the respondents. This was followed by an in-depth interview of those who volunteered. The results indicated that side setback areas that were lesser than 1-m wide were perceived as abandoned and assumed to have no function. However, those wider than 1 m were seen as secondary storage areas. Regardless of this, respondents valued the light and ventilation provided by side setback areas.

Clover root exudate produces male-biased sex ratios and accelerates male metamorphic timing in wood frogs.

In amphibians, abnormal metamorph sex ratios and sexual development have almost exclusively been considered in response to synthetic compounds like pesticides or pharmaceuticals. However, endocrine-active plant chemicals (i.e. phytoestrogens) are commonly found in agricultural and urban waterways hosting frog populations with deviant sexual development. Yet the effects of these compounds on amphibian development remain predominantly unexplored. Legumes, like clover, are common in agricultural fields and urban yards and exude phytoestrogen mixtures from their roots. These root exudates serve important ecological functions and may also be a source of phytoestrogens in waterways. I show that clover root exudate produces male-biased sex ratios and accelerates male metamorphosis relative to females in low and intermediate doses of root exudate. My results indicate that root exudates are a potential source of contaminants impacting vertebrate development and that humans may be cultivating sexual abnormalities in wildlife by actively managing certain plant species.