Abstract Public land managers are on the front lines of vegetation management and decision making as essential players in urban sustainability efforts. Green infrastructure, including lawns, has the potential to relieve climate change-related strains on municipal budgets while enhancing the quality of life. The most common urban vegetation that managers make decisions about is turfgrass, which dominates urban areas across North America and Europe. Recent appeals for changes in the ubiquitous lawn, promoting a transition from high input (e.g., fertilizer, water) to low input, more sustainable forms of urban vegetation have arisen. Despite the broad critique of the lawn, perspectives from public land managers on issues of transitioning to low input turfgrasses in urban areas remain mostly unknown. We conducted focus groups with land managers across the northern United States, specifically in Oregon, Indiana, and New Jersey to understand factors they consider opportunities and barriers in transitioning to low input cool-season turfgrasses, using the example of fine fescue varieties. Overall, managers articulated significant opportunities for a transition to low input turf. Across all groups, managers noted labor and time savings, as well as anticipated future climate and other challenges (e.g., watering restrictions, declining water quality), which could aid in the adoption of low input turfgrasses now and in the near future. Mangers also articulated significant current barriers such as previously negative experience with earlier varieties of fine fescues and their confusion around the naming of current varieties to overcome before widespread adoption could take place. More work needs to be done to demonstrate the benefits of low input turfgrasses, get managers hands-on experience with improved varieties, as well as work on simplifying and organizing the publicly used names of fine fescues.

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公共土地经理关于城市地区向低投入草坪过渡的障碍和机遇的讨论

摘要 公共土地管理者处于植被管理和决策的前线，是城市可持续发展工作的重要参与者。包括草坪在内的绿色基础设施有可能减轻与气候变化相关的市政预算压力，同时提高生活质量。管理者做出决策的最常见的城市植被是草坪，它在北美和欧洲的城市地区占主导地位。最近呼吁改变无处不在的草坪，促进从高投入（例如肥料、水）向低投入、更可持续的城市植被形式的转变。尽管对草坪提出了广泛的批评，但公共土地管理人员对城市地区过渡到低投入草坪的问题的看法仍然鲜为人知。我们与美国北部（特别是俄勒冈州、印第安纳州和新泽西州）的土地管理人员进行了焦点小组讨论，以使用优质羊茅品种为例，了解他们认为向低投入冷季型草坪草过渡的机会和障碍的因素。总体而言，管理人员阐明了向低投入领域过渡的重要机会。在所有组中，管理人员都注意到了劳动力和时间的节省，以及预期的未来气候和其他挑战（例如，浇水限制、水质下降），这可能有助于现在和不久的将来采用低投入草坪草。经理们还阐明了当前的重大障碍，例如以前对早期优质羊茅品种的负面经验，以及在广泛采用之前要克服的当前品种命名方面的困惑。需要做更多的工作来展示低投入草坪草的好处，让管理人员获得改良品种的实践经验，以及简化和组织公开使用的优质羊茅名称的工作。