Social-Ecological Factors Influencing Urban Yard Vegetation and The Provision of Sustainable Ecosystem Services

Abstract

Residential green spaces are increasingly gaining attention for their potential to contribute to ecosystem services of social and ecological value for cities. This research evaluated the potential of residential yards of San Juan, Puerto Rico, to contribute to urban sustainability through the provision of ecosystem services using a social-ecological approach. The study builds upon prior work at this site led by the San Juan Urban Long Term Research Area (ULTRA) Collaborative Network and addressed the following overarching question: Which social-ecological factors could be influencing the vegetation structure and composition of the Río Piedras Watershed residential yards and their associated ecosystem services and disservices across the watershed? The work combines social and ecological data collected from household and yard surveys following ULTRA’s long-term stratified sampling scheme of households via a convenient-based recruitment. Household surveys used semi-structured questionnaires implemented in 2011 and 2014 evaluated resident values and attitudes towards residential vegetation and their associated ecosystem services and how these may influence the structure and composition of yard vegetation across the watershed. This study took advantage of vegetation surveys implemented before and after the 2017 hurricane season to evaluate the influence of hurricane disturbances on yard vegetation. Main findings highlight that self-reporting of resident attitudes toward yard trees are generally positive with residents emphasizing ecosystem services over disservices, and varied according to differences in the spatial context of trees and residents. Models show that positive attitudes at the household scale may explain some of the variation in the number of yard trees. Residents also self-reported positive attitudes towards native plants mainly driven by sense of place, and expressed preference towards certain plant traits (i.e., habit, size) and ecosystem services. Findings also show that large-scale hurricane disturbances can have immediate effects on yard vegetation structure and composition and be an important driver of the provision of ecosystem services in addition to the stated social factors. In this work it is argued that understanding how social and ecological factors interact locally to influence yard vegetation provides a better idea of what elements of the vegetation may provide functions of local value and promote sustainability.

Citation

Olivero-Lora, Sofia. 2020. Social-Ecological Factors Influencing Urban Yard Vegetation and The Provision of Sustainable Ecosystem Services. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. College of Natural Sciences Department of Environmental Science. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico 160 pp.