There are many web pages that speak to the issue of landscape carbon footprint reduction in very broad terms. More and more people are looking for ways to make changes in their landscape and gardening practices. One of the major problems is knowing how and where to start. The first thing to find out is what you have in your yard so you know what can be left alone and what needs to change. The carbon footprint is effected primarily by three things.
The energy to produce the product. (fertilizers, plants, etc.)
The energy (fuel) used to transport the product.
The energy to maintain the product over it's life span.
Using the Earth's energy to help our efforts instead of changing nature to suit our needs is less work and costs less. Making small changes can reap huge benefits in the future. When choosing your next garden project, remember some tips and facts to help make goodpurchases. Native plants need little care due to their adaptations to their local environment. Locally produced compost needs little transportation energy. Natural nutrients don't rely on fossil fuels for their production. Proper watering can reduce pest problems and require less pesticides. The items in your landscape need different care levels depending on what they are. Large mature trees need little or no care once they are established. Shrubs need some pruning unless they are planted in the wrong place and need to be constantly sheared to stay out of the way. Flowers that need to be replanted each year will be less efficient than perennials that grow back every spring. Finally, large lawns can be one of the most energy intensive elements of a landscape.
EcoLandscape Group has created a rating system of landscape carbon footprint analysis. It involves giving two scores of 1-10 for the type of landscape element, and the quantity (sq.ft.) of each element. The numbers are added together to rate each landscape element and find out which one to target for reduction. The higher the number, the higher the carbon footprint.
Certain elements of a landscape are more fossil fuel dependent than others. Lawns are obviously the highest. They use fossil fuel fertilizers and burn gass and diesel to mow. They also create most of the yard waste that is hauled to the landfill. Artificial fertilizers are another big producer of carbon emissions. They use oil as the main ingredient on some fertilizers. Others are produced with huge mining operations. At the other end of the ratings are elements like naturally growing shrubs that are not trimmed with gas power trimmers. Natural shrubs and bed areas use no fossil fuel and actually help remove carbon from the air. For that reason they get a 0 rating.
Ratings are from 0 to 5 depending on the level of carbon emissions produced by each major landscape element. Each element is then measured to get the square footage. The elements with the largest square footage are given their rating from most to least. The largest element is given a 10 rating down to elements that may not be present in the landscape. They get a zero. The two ratings are multiplied to give the element score. The elements are added together to give the overall rating. Good ratings are down around 50-75. Poor ratings are in the 150-175 range. The example below shows a property that is heavily weighted on the side of lawns, spray irrigation and artificial fertilizers. We'll show in the next section how to lower the score by shifting some landscape elements from the top of the ratings to the bottom.
CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS
LAWNS - Score 5. Lawns are the most labor intensive parts of a landscape. They have to be mowed weekly. They usually need supplemental nutrition and water to thrive. They are usually easy targets for pests and disease. For these reasons we give lawns a score of 5.
ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS - Score 5. Common artificial fertilizers are either made directly from oil or are mined from the Earth and processed in huge energy dependent operations. Nitrogen fertilizers can leech down into the ground water and cause pollution. Phosphorous can run off into streams and lakes to cause algae blooms and other local environmental problems. We give artificial fertilizers a score of 5.
SPRAY IRRIGATION - Score 4. Water is crucial for the success of your landscape. Too much water can wash nutrients away from the plant roots and require more applications to increase carbon footprint. Poor irrigation can cause all sorts of problems that require pesticides to control. And finally clean water is a resource that uses electricity to transport and pump. If your electricity comes from a coal or gas powered power plant, then the use of water increases your carbon footprint. As a precious recourse we give spray irrigation a score of 4
PRUNED SHRUBS Score 4. In many areas of the country pruning shrubs is a major component of any landscape maintenance budget. Shrubs also need to be pruned regularly. The fact is most shrubs are planted in small areas when the species natural growth is many times bigger than the space it's planted in. Due to the hedge shearing equipment used to keep these under control, we measure the shrubs by the square foot. The length, height, and depth of the shrubs surface that needs to be trimmed is measured to give the SQ.FT. Gas power trimmers can be one of the most polluting pieces of equipment in the landscape trailer. In the south shrubs need to be pruned every week. This gives pruned shrubs a score of 4
ANNUAL FLOWERS - Score 3. Since flowers are a smaller part of most landscapes, they get a lower score. For some commercial landscape installations however, flowers and seasonal color are a big part of the budget. Annual and perennial flowers are installed by the square foot. Smaller plants that don't grow very wide, or tall thinner plants are planted closer together to get a solid mat of plants. For this reason and to keep the measurement uniform, we will measure the square footage of the flower beds. Because we need to grow new flowers every year we give annual flowers a score of 3
PERENNIAL FLOWERS Score 2. Perennial flowers will grow back year after year so new plants are not needed. However flowers do sometime need to be treated for pests so we give perennial flowers a score of 2
NATURAL GRASS Score 1. Natural grass is used to create a meadow effect when mixed with wildflowers. Tall un-mowed natural grasses can be used on berms and large properties with lots of space. Because they need little or no water and only seasonal mowing we give natural grass a score of 1.
NATURAL SHRUBS - Score 0. As a rule shrubs are care free if planted right. Their large root systems allow them to get enough water. If they are left to grow naturally, they will not need power trimmers to look good. Live plants remove carbon form the air also. By becoming part of the solution instead of part of the problem we give natural shrubs a score of 0 (zero).
DRIP IRRIGATION Score 0. The amount of energy to push water through a drip system is a fraction of what's needed to run a pressurized spray system. They are more efficient and have much less of a chance of leeching or running off into the gutter to cause pollution. This gives drip irrigation a score of 0 (zero).
BEDS - Score 0. The mulched areas around trees and shrub plantings are called beds. Planting beds is another name often used. Proper mulching can keep weeds in check with minimal effort. Beds can also be watered with drip systems which are highly efficient. This gives Planting Beds the lowest score of 0 (zero).
CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS CHARTS
Carbon Footprint Reduction Program
Our system uses ratings for creating scores that will guide you through identifying your trouble areas and starting your carbon footprint reduction program. This landscape below is heavy on lawns, spray irrigation, and artificial fertilizers. We will use it as an example to show how shifting priorities can make big reductions in your carbon footprint without sacrificing a healthy, beautiful landscape.
When we measure the site and input the SQ.FT. of each landscape element we see that the score is 156. Looking at the percentages of each element we see heavy use of lawns, spray irrigation and annual flowers. By reducing the level of lawns and spray irrigation, and switching to perennial flowers and drip irrigation, we can lower the score to 83.
We stated with the lawn, irrigation and fertilization. They were the largest portion of the landscape and pushed the score to the upper limits. We asked the client how much they used the from lawn areas for storage, entertaining, and so forth. The answer was never. Like most front yards it was just for looks and served no practical purpose. We explained that the savings in mowing time, irrigation, and fertilizers would translate into less costs and more time on the weekends. When the subject of mixing regional and native wildflowers into the front grass areas, the client felt it gave the lawns a new look and improved wildlife habitat.
The reduction in lawns presented a few new options concerning irrigation, fertilization, and mowing. With the front lawns being converted to natural grass, there is an automatic savings in irrigation. We gave the front grass areas their own zone on the system that allowed us to water it separately. Taller grasses have deeper roots so they can hold much longer between irrigation cycles. In some regions of the country it can be sustained by natural rain. All beds areas were converted to drip systems to save on power and reduce watering overall.
The fertilization program was changed from commercial synthetic fertilizers to natural nutrients made from fish by-products. Clover was added to the lawn to help in fertilization and green color. In fact, the reduction in mowing lawns allows most of the yard wastes to be left on the property. A compost system was set up to deal with kitchen scraps and the limited yard waste. 
Annual flowers were also a large portion of the landscape and gardens. We shifted the budget from purchasing flowers every years to buying a selection of natural shrubs, perennial flowers, and ground covers. Over a few years color was added and costs went down. Now the composition of the landscape design is much more structured and diverse. In fact the client reports increased wildlife sightings in the yard since the program.
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