A Native Plant Community Approach to Landscape Design for Water Conservation
Author(s)
Morrison, Darrel G.
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Hatcher, Kathryn J.
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Abstract
In many urban areas in this country, one-third or more of water consumption is devoted to the maintenance of lawns and ornamental landscape plantings. Peak demands
for such water use typically coincide with the hottest, driest periods during the growing season.
Traditional American landscape design, with historical roots in the green, pastoral landscapes of England, relies heavily on large expanses of lawn with trees, shrubs, and perennial boarders outlining these lush open spaces (Howett, 1987). With the inexpensive and abundant water supplies of the past, drought has been no particular
incentive for the development of landscapes with less water-demanding plants.
More recently, however, with growing human
populations and with the advent of serious droughts, and the resultant prospect of ever-greater demands on finite water supplies, there is a growing need to consider
alternatives to the traditionally accepted water-consumptive landscapes in residential, commercial, and institutional grounds.
Sponsor
Sponsored by U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Date
1991
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Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Proceedings