Doctoral Thesis
Public preferences and plant performance in urban plantings
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Murdoch University
2024
Abstract
Integrating vegetation into urban areas supports environmental conservation, sustainable living, and human health. Naturalistic herbaceous meadows are popular in the Northern hemisphere, but in Australia meadows of native shrubs and trees, (also known as ‘Woody Meadows’) which are better suited to the Australian climate, are used. Woody Meadow plantings are maintained through coppicing, which is hard pruning plants 10–20 cm above ground to stimulate a resprouting response. This results in bushy, flowering plantings with minimal maintenance requirements. Little is known about public responses to this novel planting style or which plant species would perform well. A 2022 online survey with 985 respondents conducted in Perth, Western Australia, I found that 88% liked the look of Woody Meadows, and 87% disliked the look of lawn in a typical streetscape setting. Preferences were stronger from respondents with pro-environmental world views, greater plant knowledge, and/or those living in higher tree cover suburbs. I also assessed growth and survival of 42 Western Australian plant species before and after coppicing at two experimental sites, considering their climate of origin and traits. I found that survival after coppicing was high, suggesting many local woody species are suitable for Woody Meadows. Species from a warmer and drier bioregion, the Geraldton Sandplains, had greater survival than species from the Swan Coastal Plain, where the experiment took place. Growth after coppicing was positively associated with plant size and stem number before coppicing. Species that allocated more resources to roots had greater survival but lower vigour than species that allocated resources to shoots. Therefore, I recommend selecting multi-stemmed species from nearby warmer and drier regions with a range of root traits to create naturalistic woody plantings. Overall, my research shows that the public would like to see more diverse plantings in streets, and that we can use local plants in Woody Meadows to achieve this.
Details
- Title
- Public preferences and plant performance in urban plantings
- Authors/Creators
- Ali F Babington
- Contributors
- Rachel Standish (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation SciencesClaire Farrell (Supervisor)Michael Hughes (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityJane Chambers (Supervisor) - Environmental and Conservation Science, Murdoch University
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Identifiers
- 991005723861807891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
- Resource Type
- Doctoral Thesis
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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