Urban landscapes result from the interaction of anthropogenic and ecological patterns process, and drivers. The central role of people in the generation of urban landscapes challenges some of the assumptions of novel ecosystems regarding the role of human intervention. In cities, the role of people in governing dynamics is central, yet all ecosystems are novel. Reconciling this necessitates the adoption of frameworks that include the drivers of decision-making to better understand how the urban landscape is created. Here, I present an interdisciplinary collaborative project that investigates the natural science, policy, and decision-making dimensions of green infrastructure – low impact development (GI/LID) in Arizona, USA. The project integrates several frameworks and uses ecosystem services as a nexus to understand what is possible and what is practical with respect to GI/LID implementation. Approaches include integrating plot and catchment scale ecohydrology and biogeochemistry, ecosystem service characterization, assessing learning and networks in the policy environment, and exploring the role of ecological information in informing decision-making and design.
Results/Conclusions
These approaches will ultimately couple these natural and human systems by investigating how the scientific information about ecosystem services informs decision-making and by using realistic adoption and implementation practices to understand how reasonable water sustainability policy implementation impacts ecosystem services. Preliminary field and modelling results suggest that GI/LID approaches that include water harvesting can enhance the provision of ecosystem services. This is largely the result of supporting enhanced plant growth and ecohydrologic function, as well as enhancing the quality of soils and activity of soil microbes. These ecosystem service patterns will be discussed through a social-ecological systems framework to address connections between design and function that have implications for water management in dryland cities. Ultimately, this social ecological approach can inform new investigations of novel urban ecosystem services in other settings.