Exploring the Effects of Yard Management and Neighborhood Influence on Carbon Storage in Residential Subdivisions

Agent-based Model;Residential Neighborhood;Social Influence;Management;Carbon;Natural Resources and Environment

Hutchins, MeghanNassauer, Joan ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Agent-based Model;    Residential Neighborhood;    Social Influence;    Management;    Carbon;    Natural Resources and Environment;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/78211/Hutchins-Thesis-Final-20101013.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

The dramatic land-use shift from forest and agricultural to exurban residential land uses creates anexcellent opportunity for ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration through yard design andmanagement. Yard management in a residential subdivision is rarely an autonomous endeavor. Culturaland local norms play an important role in how residents design and maintain their yards. Studies showthat residents are influenced by the behavior of their neighbors. Yet, social influence has rarely beenincorporated into carbon sequestration studies in residential landscapes. Agent-based modeling offersan ideal framework for exploring how social complexities among humans could affect theirenvironment.An agent-based model called ELMST (Exploratory Land Management and Carbon Storage), wasdeveloped to explore how management of individual yards and neighborhood influence could affectcarbon storage at the scale of a residential subdivision. The model was run under four scenarios: (tier-0)no management, (tier-1) individual management without influence (tier-2) individual management withopportunity to adapt based on neighbor behaviors, and (tier-3) adaptive management, as in tier-2, butseveral residents were given an incentive to innovate their yard to a native prairie design upon modelstart-up. The model was parameterized with interview and fieldwork data from exurban homesSoutheast Michigan. Total carbon within the subdivision was compared among scenarios for year 30.Tier-1 showed a significantly higher quantity of carbon than all others, including tier-0 (nomanagement). Results from tier-2 and tier-3 showed a greater variability of carbon storage at thesubdivision level, suggesting that a wide range of outcomes can emerge as a result of neighborhoodinfluence and divergent local norms. Considering model sensitivity of individual managementbehaviors, the model showed that turfgrass fertilization and mowing the lawn while allowing grassclippings to decompose on-site dramatically increased carbon stored at the parcel level, when comparedwith the no management scenario. Comparatively, removing grass clippings dramatically decreasedcarbon stored at the parcel level, when compared with the no management scenario. The native prairieinnovation was able to propagate through the subdivision in tier-3 in the ELMST model. Prairie-basedparcels were shown to store less carbon overall than the conventional lawn-based parcels that werefertilized or mown while allowing grass clippings to remain on-site, but stored more carbon than ifgrass clippings were removed all together. Model results imply that trade-off between carbon storageand other ecosystem services may need to be considered when developing policies forenvironmentally-friendly residential landscapes.The ELMST model was developed to be expanded and re-used for a variety of locales, cultures andclimates. Results from this study may be used to formulate better research questions and hypothesis,inform data collection, expand intuition of policy makers, and advance the development of agent-basedmodels with regards to coupled human and natural systems.