Plant traits link people's plant preferences to the composition of their gardens

Kendal, Dave; Williams, Kathryn; Williams, Nicholas S.G.

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.11.023

Cited by 211 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

122

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Nonvisual traits such as nativeness may also influence planting decisions. Although this heterogeneity of preferences has been attributed to diversity in the social environment (Kirkpatrick et al 2007, Kendal et al 2012), we did not identify any strong matching between the characteristics of residents that we recorded, and the community structure of the woody vegetation in their gardens. Even though we standardized the numbers of plants to account for different garden sizes, the vegetated area of the garden was present in all best matches in our analyses, indicating that larger gardens not only support higher woody species richness (van Heezik et al 2013) but also characteristic communities of both exotic and native woody plants when compared to smaller gardens.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…In Australia, preference for native plants varied considerably with some householders strongly disliking native plants (Kendal et al 2012). Conservation attitudes tend to be associated with a preference for native plants in gardens (Head andMuir 2006, Zagorski et al 2004), however the householders in our study showed only a weak positive association between proenvironmental orientation and native species richness (van Heezik et al 2013).…”

Section: Native Representation In Woody Plant Communitiescontrasting

confidence: 48%

“…These features have been attributed to the large pool of species available to gardeners, the active management of gardens that allows plants to exist at very low population densities, the value placed on individualism in Western societies (Thompson et al 2003, Daniels andKirkpatrick 2006b), and gardeners' penchant for diverse habitats and functional spaces in gardens, e. g., ponds, sitting spaces, pot gardens, shrubberies. Despite diverse preferences, aesthetic traits related to flower size, leaf width, and foliage color are consistently favored (Kendal et al 2012). The most common woody species in this study were roses and rhododendrons, both colorful and showy species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Income and education level of residents are positively associated with greater tree abundance in Australian gardens (Kirkpatrick et al 2007, 2011Luck et al 2009, Kendal et al 2012, and explain a proportion of the variation in woody species diversity and structural complexity in the gardens in Dunedin (van Heezik et al 2013). We found no similar association with tree community composition, despite the fact that many garden owners (n = 18) reported removing and planting trees for a variety of reasons.…”

Section: Tree Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the direction of causality is often difficult to determine because it is likely that people who appreciate plants are more likely to choose to live in vegetationally diverse parts of the city. Householders that have been in their residence for long periods of time can demonstrate stronger relationships between preferences for traits and the species in their gardens because they have had sufficient time to create a garden in line with their aesthetic vision (Kendal et al 2012). The association between length of residence and numbers of tall native trees in our study was complex: the two most outlying gardens in the ordination for native tall trees were associated with particularly long residence (G12, 63 years), whereas a third outlier was associated with very short residence (G17, 4 years).…”

Section: Tree Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Native and exotic woody vegetation communities in domestic gardens in relation to social and environmental factors

Heezik¹,

Freeman²,

Porter³

et al. 2014

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drivers of garden diversity and structure are complex, reflecting the diversity of social, cultural, and socioeconomic characteristics of the householders who manage their gardens, as well as their predecessors. Here we investigate the woodiness of gardens, and focus on (1) the prevalence of native versus exotic woody plants and (2) the influence of characteristics of garden owners, the gardens, and their proximity to neighborhood green spaces to identify the degree to which these factors explain patterns in native and exotic woody species communities in entire (back and front) gardens in southern temperate New Zealand. We found few consistent patterns in structure in woody species community composition. Outlying gardens were characterized by low species richness and abundance. Thirty-seven species commonly occurred across most gardens: most of these were exotic. Twelve native species were common throughout most gardens. There was significant but weak matching to social and environmental variables: vegetated area, species knowledge, and education explained pattern in native communities, whereas vegetated area, species knowledge, and householder age explained variation in exotic communities. Native trees > 5 m tall occurred in only 58% of gardens. Tall tree density was 10/ha, and 29% of gardens lacked any trees > 5 m. Tree presence was weakly (positively) associated with extent and proximity of neighborhood green space. We suggest that the legacy of previous owners' gardening practices is important to consider when identifying drivers of garden plant community structure.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Native Representation In Woody Plant Communitiescontrasting

confidence: 48%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Tree Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tree Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Native and exotic woody vegetation communities in domestic gardens in relation to social and environmental factors

Heezik¹,

Freeman²,

Porter³

et al. 2014

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

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

Cavender‐Bares

Cubino

Pearse

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

2020. Horticultural availability and homeowner preferences drive plant diversity and composition in urban yards. Ecological Applications 30(4):Abstract. 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.

show abstract

Biodiverse cities: the nursery industry, homeowners, and neighborhood differences drive urban tree composition

Avolio

Pataki

Trammell

et al. 2018

Ecological Monographs

134

116

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In arid and semiarid regions, where few if any trees are native, city trees are largely human planted. Societal factors such as resident preferences for tree traits, nursery offerings, and neighborhood characteristics are potentially key drivers of urban tree community composition and diversity, however, they remain critically understudied. We investigated patterns of urban tree structure in residential neighborhoods of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, combining biological variables, such as neighborhood and plant nursery tree species and trait composition, and sociological data comprised of resident surveys and U.S. Census data. We sampled nine neighborhoods that varied in household income and age of homes. We found more tree species were offered in locally owned nurseries compared with mass merchandiser stores and yard trees at private residences were more diverse than public street trees in the same neighborhoods. There were significant differences among neighborhoods in street and yard tree composition. Newer neighborhoods differed from older neighborhoods in street tree species composition and trait diversity, while neighborhoods varying in affluence differed in yard tree composition. Species richness of yard trees was positively correlated with neighborhood household income, while species richness of street trees was negatively correlated with home age of neighborhood residences. Tree traits differed across neighborhoods of varying ages, suggesting different tree availability and preferences over time. Last, there was a positive correlation between resident preferences for tree attributes and the number of trees that had those attributes both in residential yards and in nursery offerings. Strong relationships between social variables and urban tree composition provides evidence that resident preferences and nursery offerings affect patterns of biodiversity in cities across Salt Lake Valley. These findings can be applied toward efforts to increase taxonomic and functional diversity of city trees in semiarid regions in ways that will also provide ecosystem services of most interest to residents.

show abstract

Plant traits link people's plant preferences to the composition of their gardens

Cited by 211 publications

References 47 publications

Native and exotic woody vegetation communities in domestic gardens in relation to social and environmental factors

Native and exotic woody vegetation communities in domestic gardens in relation to social and environmental factors

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

Biodiverse cities: the nursery industry, homeowners, and neighborhood differences drive urban tree composition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About