View
221
Download
2
Category
Tags:
Preview:
Citation preview
Why Focus on the Suburban Lawn?
• A high level of American’s interaction with the environment occurs here – need to teach the right lessons
• Third largest “crop” in the U.S. – and growing!
• Especially important for urban watersheds like the N.W. Branch – can be the major source of pollutants
The Lawn Ecosystem in the U.S.
• Imported from Europe – is an artificial ecosystem
• Only able to become widespread because of technological innovations
• Americans spend 25 Billion dollars a year on landscaping
• $100 for every person in the country
• $380 for every household
The National Costs of the Lawn Ecosystem
Percent Lawn Maintenance Expense forthe United States
Labor
60%
Fertilizer
4%
Gas
3%
Pesticide
3%
Equipment
20%
Other
8%
Seed
2%
The Costs Associated with Lawn Care
• The average homeowner spends six times more per hectare on yard care than the average farmer spends tending crops.
Landowner Total Cost Cost/Person Cost/Hectare
Homeowners $25 Billion $379.00 $2,500/hectare
Farmers $57 Billion Not available $420/hectare
The Ecological Footprint Concept
An ecological footprint is a way of translating the environmental impacts of an activity into the land needed to sustain that activity ad infinitum
Ecological Footprint of the Lawn at the National and State Level
Input Total Energy Use (GJ) Total Footprint (Hectares) Footprint per Hectare (Hectares)
Pennsylvania National Pennsylvania National Pennsylvania National
Land N/A N/A 548,350 11,600,000 1.0 1.0
Water 7.7x105 6.1x106 9,625 76,500 0.018 0.007
Fuel 6.8x106 9.1x107 85,000 1,138,000 0.155 0.098
Machine Production
8.8x105 4.4x107 11,000 550,000 0.02 0.047
Fertilizer Production
1.4x106 1.32x107 17,500 165,000 0.032 0.014
Pesticide Production
4.8x105 4.8x106 600 60,000 0.001 0.004
Total 1.03x107 1.59x108 672,075 13,589,500 1.226 1.170
•Nationally we use enough energy in lawn care every year to supply 1.5 million American households with power for a year.
•1/5 hectare of land is needed to provide enough energy to care for one hectare of lawn
Estimated National and State Level Air Pollution from Lawn Care
• Although used infrequently, lawn equipment creates a significant amount of air pollution because small engine emission standards are more lenient than large engine standards.
• Lawn equipment produces between 10-30 times as much air pollution per liter of gas as a car.
Input Particulate Matter per Hectare
NOx and
HC's per Hectare
Total CO per Hectare
Total CO2 per
Hectare
Total NH3
per Hectare
National 11.5 kg/yr. 403 kg/yr. 1,910 kg/yr.
806 kg/yr.
0.017 kg/yr.
PA 14 kg/yr. 540 kg/yr. 2,537 kg/yr.
1,082 kg/yr.
0.032 kg/yr.
The Lawn’s Impact on Biota
•Very few studies on this topic
•Studies show that urban growth favors generalist and exotic species
Comparison of Biota with Different Maintenance Regimes
Maintenance Regime
High Maintenance
Medium Maintenance
Low Maintenance
Number of Plant Species Found
2 species 5 species 16 species
Percentage of Native Species Found
0 percent 0 percent 56 percent
Impacts of Lawns on Soil & Water
• 1/5 of all pesticides are used on lawns – 10x higher than farmer’s use
• 10 percent of water pollution comes from lawn care
• 1/3 of household water use is used in lawn care
Runoff and Soil Loss• Rain water infiltration is
2.5 greater in natural fields than the compacted lawns of suburbia
• Reduces groundwater recharge
• Makes streams more flashy
• Increases erosion rates
What to do?
Solutions Grow from a Sense of Place – Design for the Place Where You Live
Use poorly draining land as a pond or install a rain garden there
What to do?
Design and maintain yard using ecological accounting
Example: Integrated pest management vs. pesticides
What to do?
Design and maintain yards with Nature instead of against it
Example: yard waste – compost vs. landfill
What to do?
Make nature visible•People become interested in nature through their yards & parks
•Helps them make the connection between themselves and the environment around them
Recommended