View Source | August 13, 2013
In a Pacific Standard article, reporter Cameron Walker explores how yards across America are starting to look the same. He compares the nation's yards to a checkerboard, especially when you look from up above in an airplane. Why is this happening?
Several of the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) location researchers, including those from ASU's Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project, are finding that increasingly urban cities are planting species similar to other urban areas instead of local flora.
Sustainability Scientist and investigator Kelli Larson surveyed Phoenix homeowners who said homeowner associations specified what plants could grow in their lawns, sometimes preferring exotic species. Fortunately, many Phoenicians are happy to adopt the natural, water-saving xeriscaping method.