Grasses and Gases: Modeling Human Dynamics of Lawn Fertilization and Resultant Nitrous Oxide Emissions

一氧化二氮通过各种人类活动释放到大气中。S说，这种气体在地球大气层中吸收热量的能力大约是二氧化碳的300倍，因此，即使是少量的排放，也可能在美国温室气体排放中占据相当大的份额。氮氧化物释放的一个途径是在草坪上施肥，因为这些肥料的一部分被土壤细菌转化为一氧化二氮。不仅影响家庭一氧化二氮排放的物理因素没有得到很好的量化，而且社会科学研究和与草坪护理相关的气候变化缓解法律和政策的研究过去也不是重点。需要进行一项跨学科的综合研究，以回答下列问题：(1)导致家庭使用含氮化肥产生一氧化二氮排放的物理过程；(2)影响家庭使用化肥产生一氧化二氮排放的个人和家庭活动的类型和水平；(3)与这些个人和家庭活动相关的价值观、信仰和规范；(4)与这些活动相关的社区和社会网络。这个项目是对里奇兰溪流域的研究，该流域包括田纳西州纳什维尔28.5平方英里的主要居民区。这些社区代表了不同种族、收入、教育和所有权模式的居民。将收集和分析一组协调一致的生物物理和社会科学数据，以解决科学问题。为了了解社会和经济影响如何影响Richland Creek社区的化肥使用，研究小组将对分水岭60个街区的600户家庭进行一系列调查。我们还将进行60个焦点小组，每个样本块一个。为了提供与一氧化二氮释放的联系，将在分水岭周围的地点采集物理样本。土壤中的一氧化二氮通量将通过土壤覆盖测量，土壤水分和温度将在采样点使用无线传感器阵列测量。使用本研究得出的数据，将检验家庭、次社区和邻里行为及其对肥力的影响的理论解释，并通过与测量的生物物理过程的联系，包括强大的温室气体一氧化二氮的排放速率。该项目将使人们了解，受土壤和气象条件的影响，草坪上有多少含氮化肥被转化为一氧化二氮；家庭对化肥使用的决定如何受到社区的影响？在这方面，我们将讨论以下几个问题：家庭层面的规范和特征；哪些家庭层面的信念、规范和特征会影响化肥的使用；邻里层面的规范和特征如何与家庭特征相互作用；以及如何利用对排放和行为特征的综合知识来探索减少化肥使用所产生的一氧化二氮排放的备选方案。特别是，研究结果可能表明，一些政策或社区一级的干预措施可能适合减少温室气体排放的家庭份额，与更经常使用的针对工业来源的监管措施相比，这些干预措施可能具有相当的成本效益。

Nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere from a variety of human activities. This gas is roughly 300 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the Earth?s atmosphere, and thus even small quantities of emissions may constitute a meaningful share of US greenhouse gas emissions. One path for nitrous oxide releases is from the application of fertilizers to lawns because a portion of these fertilizers is converted to nitrous oxide by soil bacteria. Not only are the physical factors that affect nitrous oxide emissions from households not well quantified, but social science research and research into climate change mitigation laws and policies associated with lawncare has not been a focus in the past. An integrated, interdisciplinary study is needed to answer questions related to (1) the physical processes that lead to nitrous oxide emissions from household nitrogen-containing fertilizer use, (2) the types and levels of individual and household activities that affect household nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use; (3) the values, beliefs and norms associated with these individual and household activities; and (4) the communities and social networks associated with these activities. This project is a study of the Richland Creek Watershed, which encompasses 28.5 square miles of primarily residential neighborhoods in Nashville, Tennessee. These neighborhoods represent a diverse range of residents in terms of race, income, education, and ownership patterns. A coordinated set of biophysical and social-science data will be collected and analyzed to address the science questions. To understand how social and economic influences affect fertilizer use in Richland Creek neighborhoods, the research team will conduct a series of surveys with 600 households grouped in 60 blocks in the watershed. We also will conduct 60 focus groups, one for each sampled block. To provide the link to the release of nitrous oxide, physical samples will be taken at locations around the watershed. Nitrous oxide fluxes from the soil will be measured using soil covers and soil moisture and temperature will be measured at the sampling sites using a wireless sensor array.Using data derived in this research, theoretical explanations of household, sub-neighborhood, and neighborhood behaviors and their effect upon fertilization rates will be tested and, through links with measured biophysical processes, emission rates of a powerful greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, will be included. The project will lead to knowledge of how much of nitrogen-containing fertilizer applied to lawns is converted to nitrous oxide as affected by soil and meteorological conditions; how household lawncare decisions around fertilizer use are affected by a neighborhoods? norms and characteristics; which household-level beliefs, norms, and characteristics affect fertilizer use; how neighborhood-level norms and characteristics interact with household characteristics; and how the combined knowledge of emissions and behavioral characteristics can be used to explore options to effect reductions of nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use. In particular, the research results may indicate that a number of policy or community-level interventions may be appropriate for reducing the household share of greenhouse gas emissions and that these interventions may be quite cost effective in comparison with more often used regulatory measures targeting industrial sources.