This anthology convenes 53 foundational readings that showcase the rich history of socio-environmental research from the late 1700s onwards. The introduction orients readers to the topic and how it has evolved and describes how to best use the book. The original readings are organised into six sections, documenting the emergence of socio-environmental research, first as a shared concern and then as a topic of specific interest to anthropology and geography; economics, sociology and political science; ecology; ethics, religious studies, and history; and technology, energy, and materials. A noted scholar introduces each section, putting the readings into historical and intellectual context. The conclusion links the legacy readings to contemporary approaches to socio-environmental research and discusses how these links can enrich the reader's understanding and work. Invaluable to students, instructors and researchers alike, this canonical reference illuminates underappreciated linkages across research domains and creates a shared basis for dialogue and collaboration.
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Context As urban areas increase in extent globally, domestic yards play an increasingly important role as potential contributors to ecosystem services and well-being. These benefits largely depend on the plant species richness and composition of yards. Objectives We aim to determine the factors that drive plant species richness and phylogenetic composition of cultivated and spontaneous flora in urban yards at the continental scale, and how these potential drivers interact. Methods We analyzed plant species richness and phylogenetic composition of cultivated and spontaneous flora of 117 private yards from six major metropolitan areas in the US. Yard plant species richness and phylogenetic composition were expressed as a function of biophysical and socioeconomic variables and yard characteristics using linear mixed-effects models and spatially explicit structural equation modeling. Results Extreme temperatures largely determined yard species richness and phylogenetic composition at the continental scale. Precipitation positively predicted spontaneous richness but negatively predicted cultivated richness. Only the phylogenetic composition of the spontaneous flora was associated with precipitation. The effect of lower temperatures and precipitation on all yard diversity parameters was partly mediated by yard area. Among various socioeconomic variables, only education level showed a significant effect on cultivated phylogenetic composition. Conclusions Our results support the hypothesis that irrigation compensates for precipitation in driving cultivated yard plant diversity at the continental scale. Socioeconomic variables among middle and upper class families have no apparent influence on yard diversity. These findings inform the adaptation of US urban vegetation in cities in the face of global change. ; National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Program in the Emerging Frontiers Division of the Biological Sciences Directorate; Long Term Ecological Research Program; "Yard Futures'' project from the NSF Macrosystems Program [EF-1638519]; "Ecological Homogenization of Urban America'' project - NSF Macrosystems Program [EF-1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741, 1065772, 1065785, 1065831, 121238320]; NSF Long Term Ecological Research ProgramNational Science Foundation (NSF) [DEB-0423476, BCS-1026865, DEB-0423704, DEB-9714833, OCE-1058747, 1238212, DEB-0620652, DBI-0620409] ; Research funding was provided by the National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Program in the Emerging Frontiers Division of the Biological Sciences Directorate and Long Term Ecological Research Program. The senior author was supported by the "Yard Futures'' project from the NSF Macrosystems Program (EF-1638519). Data collection was supported by the "Ecological Homogenization of Urban America'' project, funded by a series of collaborative grants from the NSF Macrosystems Program (EF-1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741, 1065772, 1065785, 1065831 and 121238320); and additionally by grants from the NSF Long Term Ecological Research Program supporting work in Baltimore (DEB-0423476), Phoenix (BCS-1026865, DEB-0423704 and DEB-9714833), Plum Island (Boston) (OCE-1058747 and 1238212), Cedar Creek (Minneapolis-St. Paul) (DEB-0620652) and Florida Coastal Everglades (Miami) (DBI-0620409). We are grateful to the botanical field teams involved in yard sampling and data organization: BAL-Charlie Davis, Dan Dillon, Erin Mellenthin, Charlie Nicholson, Hannah Saunders, Avery Uslaner; BOS-Emma Dixon, Roberta Lombardiy, Pamela Polloni, Jehane Semaha, Elisabeth Ward, Megan Wheeler; LA-Aprille Curtis, La'Shaye Ervin; MIA-Bianca Bonilla, Stephen Hodges, Lawrence Lopez, Gabriel Sone; MSP-Chris Buyarksi, Emily Loberg, Alison Slaats, Kelsey Thurow; PHX-Erin Barton, Miguel Morgan. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee
In natural grasslands, C-4 plant dominance increases with growing season temperatures and reflects distinct differences in plant growth rates and water use efficiencies of C-3 vs. C-4 photosynthetic pathways. However, in lawns, management decisions influence interactions between planted turfgrass and weed species, leading to some uncertainty about the degree of human vs. climatic controls on lawn species distributions. We measured herbaceous plant carbon isotope ratios (delta C-13, index of C-3/C-4 relative abundance) and C-4 cover in residential lawns across seven U.S. cities to determine how climate, lawn plant management, or interactions between climate and plant management influenced C-4 lawn cover. We also calculated theoretical C-4 carbon gain predicted by a plant physiological model as an index of expected C-4 cover due to growing season climatic conditions in each city. Contrary to theoretical predictions, plant delta C-13 and C-4 cover in urban lawns were more strongly related to mean annual temperature than to growing season temperature. Wintertime temperatures influenced the distribution of C-4 lawn turf plants, contrary to natural ecosystems where growing season temperatures primarily drive C-4 distributions. C-4 cover in lawns was greatest in the three warmest cities, due to an interaction between climate and homeowner plant management (e.g., planting C-4 turf species) in these cities. The proportion of C-4 lawn species was similar to the proportion of C-4 species in the regional grass flora. However, the majority of C-4 species were nonnative turf grasses, and not of regional origin. While temperature was a strong control on lawn species composition across the United States, cities differed as to whether these patterns were driven by cultivated lawn grasses vs. weedy species. In some cities, biotic interactions with weedy plants appeared to dominate, while in other cities, C-4 plants were predominantly imported and cultivated. Elevated CO2 and temperature in cities can influence C-3/C-4 competitive outcomes; however, this study provides evidence that climate and plant management dynamics influence biogeography and ecology of C-3/C-4 plants in lawns. Their differing water and nutrient use efficiency may have substantial impacts on carbon, water, energy, and nutrient budgets across cities. ; U.S. National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Program [EF-1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741, 1065772, 1065785, 1065831, 121238320] ; This research was funded by a series of collaborative grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Program (EF-1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741, 1065772, 1065785, 1065831, 121238320). The authors thank La'Shaye Ervin, William Borrowman, Moumita Kundu, and Barbara Uhl for field and laboratory assistance. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee
Temporal stability of ecosystem functioning increases the predictability and reliability of ecosystem services, and understanding the drivers of stability across spatial scales is important for land management and policy decisions. We used species-level abundance data from 62 plant communities across five continents to assess mechanisms of temporal stability across spatial scales. We assessed how asynchrony (i.e. different units responding dissimilarly through time) of species and local communities stabilised metacommunity ecosystem function. Asynchrony of species increased stability of local communities, and asynchrony among local communities enhanced metacommunity stability by a wide range of magnitudes (1–315%); this range was positively correlated with the size of the metacommunity. Additionally, asynchronous responses among local communities were linked with species' populations fluctuating asynchronously across space, perhaps stemming from physical and/or competitive differences among local communities. Accordingly, we suggest spatial heterogeneity should be a major focus for maintaining the stability of ecosystem services at larger spatial scales. ; Fil: Wilcox, Kevin R. Oklahoma State University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Tredennick, Andrew T. State University of Utah; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Koerner, Sally E. University of North Carolina; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Grman, Emily. Eastern Michigan University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Hallett, Lauren M. University of Oregon; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Avolio, Meghan L. University Johns Hopkins; Estados Unidos ; Fil: La Pierre, Kimberly J. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Houseman, Gregory R. Wichita State University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Forest, Isbell. University of Minnesota; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Johnson, David Samuel. Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Alatalo, Juha M. Qatar University; Qatar ; Fil: Baldwin, Andrew H. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Bork, Edward W. University of Alberta; Canadá ; Fil: Boughton, Elizabeth H. MacArthur Agroecology Research Center; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Bowman, William D. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Britton, Andrea J. James Hutton Institute; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Cahill, James F. University of Alberta; Canadá ; Fil: Collins, Scott L. University of New Mexico; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Du, Guozhen. Lanzhou University; China ; Fil: Eskelinen, Anu. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Alemania. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research; Alemania. University of Oulu; Finlandia ; Fil: Gough, Laura. Towson University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Jentsch, Anke. University of Bayreuth; Alemania ; Fil: Kern, Christel. United States Forest Service; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Klanderud, Kari. Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Noruega ; Fil: Knapp, Alan K. Colorado State University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Kreyling, Juergen. Greifswald University; Alemania ; Fil: Luo, Yiqi. Oklahoma State University; Estados Unidos. Northern Arizona University; Estados Unidos. Tsinghua University; China ; Fil: McLaren, James E. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Megonigal, Patrick. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Onipchenko, Vladimir. Moscow State Lomonosov University; Rusia ; Fil: Prevéy, Janet. Pacific Northwest Research Station; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Price, Jodi N. Charles Sturt University; Australia ; Fil: Robinson, Clare H. University of Manchester; Reino Unido ; Fil: Sala, Osvaldo Esteban. Arizona State University; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina ; Fil: Smith, Melinda D. Colorado State University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A. Leiden University; Países Bajos ; Fil: Souza, Lara. Oklahoma State University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Tilman, David. University of Minnesota; Estados Unidos ; Fil: White, Shannon R. Government of Alberta; Canadá ; Fil: Xu, Zhuwen. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China ; Fil: Yahdjian, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina ; Fil: Yu, Qiang. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; China ; Fil: Zhang, Pengfei. Lanzhou University; China ; Fil: Zhang, Yunhai. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China. University Aarhus; Dinamarca
