Faux-tanical gardens: the impact of artificial lawns on the structure and function of urban ecosystems

ISHS Secretariat
Faux-tanical gardens: the impact of artificial lawns on the structure and function of urban ecosystems

Urban areas are under increasing pressure to contribute to the mitigation of the climate impacts arising from urbanisation. Urban greenspaces, including natural lawns, are recognised as critical resources for ecosystem service provision. Natural lawns contribute a variety of ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water absorption, and mitigation of the urban heat island effect. However, in recent years, there has been a rise in the installation of artificial lawns that could threaten these contributions to ecosystem services. Artificial lawns have been found to increase run-off and decrease infiltration compared to natural lawns. Additionally, satisfying the cultural need for green space with artificial lawns could shift expectations towards the removal of nature from domestic spaces entirely. Furthermore, there are many unknown impacts from the removal of topsoil, a potential increase in temperature, usage patterns, and method of installation of artificial lawns. Caitlin Cook is a PhD researcher at Northumbria University where she is investigating the impacts of artificial lawns in domestic gardens on the structure and function of urban ecosystems. This involves using remote sensing image classification to quantify the area covered by and the uptake rate of artificial lawns, as well as analysing which garden and land cover types are being removed for artificial lawn installations. Caitlin has developed an online survey to assess the socio-demographic patterns in artificial lawn ownership, people’s motivations for installing artificial lawns, and how they use them. The next steps in her research involve setting up ground-level experimental plots to compare the ecosystem functions of natural and artificial lawns. This interdisciplinary research will inform the scale of impacts of artificial lawns and assist in promoting a shift towards more sustainable gardening practises. Caitlin’s project is funded by the NERC OnePlanet DTP and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). She is under the supervision of Dr. Mark Goddard and Dr. Miranda Prendergast-Miller from Northumbria University, Dr. Rachel Gaulton from Newcastle University, and Dr. Chloe Sutcliffe from the RHS.

Caitlin Cook won the ISHS Young Minds Award for the best poster presentation at the III International Symposium on Greener Cities: Improving Ecosystem Services in a Climate-Changing World (GreenCities2024) in the United Kingdom in September 2024.

Caitlin Cook, Northumbria University, Ellison Building, Ellison Place, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom, e-mail: caitlin.a.cook@northumbria.ac.uk

The article is available in Chronica Horticulturae

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artificial lawns
impact
urban ecosystems
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Young Minds Award Winners