Read the abstract of the talk here: http://csid.asu.edu/resilience-2011/program/files/Individual_Papers/pdf/katti.pdf

1. Water management and urban resilience:
the dynamic interplay between water policy, residential
water use, the urban landscape, and plant & bird diversity
Madhusudan Katti*, Andrew Jones, Henry Delcore, Derya Ozgoc-Caglar, Tom Holyoke
California State University, Fresno
Resilience 2011 Conference, March 12, 2011
Urban Long-Term Research Area
Fresno And Clovis Ecosocial Study

2. Water: a key resource & ecosystem service in
any urban Socio-Ecological System (SES)

3. What drives water consumption?

4. What drives water consumption?
✤ Sococioeconomic status is positively correlated with levels of
resource consumption

5. What drives water consumption?
✤ Sococioeconomic status is positively correlated with levels of
resource consumption
✤ at individual/household scale as well as larger social units

6. What drives water consumption?
✤ Sococioeconomic status is positively correlated with levels of
resource consumption
✤ at individual/household scale as well as larger social units
✤ As both a good and a service, water is usually priced at a low rate
in industrialized and post-industrial countries

7. What drives water consumption?
✤ Sococioeconomic status is positively correlated with levels of
resource consumption
✤ at individual/household scale as well as larger social units
✤ As both a good and a service, water is usually priced at a low rate
in industrialized and post-industrial countries
✤ as it is deemed essential to human survival;

8. What drives water consumption?
✤ Sococioeconomic status is positively correlated with levels of
resource consumption
✤ at individual/household scale as well as larger social units
✤ As both a good and a service, water is usually priced at a low rate
in industrialized and post-industrial countries
✤ as it is deemed essential to human survival;
✤ and therefore, often priced for delivery of service rather than
for the resource itself

9. Water pricing as a regulatory tool?

10. Water pricing as a regulatory tool?
✤ Water pricing may reduce water consumption under certain
conditions

11. Water pricing as a regulatory tool?
✤ Water pricing may reduce water consumption under certain
conditions
✤ but most municipal water departments avoid water pricing
policies that could encourage conservation

12. Water pricing as a regulatory tool?
✤ Water pricing may reduce water consumption under certain
conditions
✤ but most municipal water departments avoid water pricing
policies that could encourage conservation
✤ The cost of water is negligible for budgetary decision making in
most households - particularly true in the US

13. What shapes water consumption?

14. What shapes water consumption?
✤ Household consumption of water is shaped & constrained by

15. What shapes water consumption?
✤ Household consumption of water is shaped & constrained by
✤ home design (age of house, irrigation technology)

16. What shapes water consumption?
✤ Household consumption of water is shaped & constrained by
✤ home design (age of house, irrigation technology)
✤ residential landscape design (type of plants, yard layout)

17. What shapes water consumption?
✤ Household consumption of water is shaped & constrained by
✤ home design (age of house, irrigation technology)
✤ residential landscape design (type of plants, yard layout)
✤ status honor gained by conspicuous consumption of resources

18. What shapes water consumption?
✤ Household consumption of water is shaped & constrained by
✤ home design (age of house, irrigation technology)
✤ residential landscape design (type of plants, yard layout)
✤ status honor gained by conspicuous consumption of resources
✤ or, by decreased consumption through newer technology and
design that may be linked to greater environmental awareness

19. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity

20. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity
✤ Patterns of water use by humans shape the urban landscape

21. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity
✤ Patterns of water use by humans shape the urban landscape
✤ Water availability, irrigation technologies, and human preferences
determine urban plant diversity

22. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity
✤ Patterns of water use by humans shape the urban landscape
✤ Water availability, irrigation technologies, and human preferences
determine urban plant diversity
✤ plant diversity is more directly driven by human actions

23. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity
✤ Patterns of water use by humans shape the urban landscape
✤ Water availability, irrigation technologies, and human preferences
determine urban plant diversity
✤ plant diversity is more directly driven by human actions
✤ Water availability, plant diversity & cover, landscape structure and
heterogeneity drive animal diversity

24. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity
✤ Patterns of water use by humans shape the urban landscape
✤ Water availability, irrigation technologies, and human preferences
determine urban plant diversity
✤ plant diversity is more directly driven by human actions
✤ Water availability, plant diversity & cover, landscape structure and
heterogeneity drive animal diversity
✤ birds freely choose to inhabit/abandon urban habitats,

25. Consequences of human water
consumption on urban biodiversity
✤ Patterns of water use by humans shape the urban landscape
✤ Water availability, irrigation technologies, and human preferences
determine urban plant diversity
✤ plant diversity is more directly driven by human actions
✤ Water availability, plant diversity & cover, landscape structure and
heterogeneity drive animal diversity
✤ birds freely choose to inhabit/abandon urban habitats,
✤ therefore they are good indicators of biodiversity outcomes

26. How much water do we use in the
Cadillac Desert?

27. How much water do we use in the
Cadillac Desert?

28. How much water do we use in the
Cadillac Desert?
300
Gallons of water / person / day
250
200
150
100
50
0
Albuquerque Fresno Las Vegas Phoenix Tucson

29. Poverty in Fresno
Fresno U.S.
% of population below the poverty line
30
24 26.2
18 20.5
12
12.4
6 9.2
0
Families Individuals

30. Household Water Use in Fresno

31. Household Water Use in Fresno
✤ Currently, 51% of city water supply is used residentially

32. Household Water Use in Fresno
✤ Currently, 51% of city water supply is used residentially
✤ 70% of residential water use is for landscape irrigation

33. Household Water Use in Fresno
✤ Currently, 51% of city water supply is used residentially
✤ 70% of residential water use is for landscape irrigation
✤ No meters: water bill is at a flat monthly rate

34. Household Water Use in Fresno
✤ Currently, 51% of city water supply is used residentially
✤ 70% of residential water use is for landscape irrigation
✤ No meters: water bill is at a flat monthly rate
✤ Neighboring Clovis has metered water since 1910

35. Household Water Use in Fresno
✤ Currently, 51% of city water supply is used residentially
✤ 70% of residential water use is for landscape irrigation
✤ No meters: water bill is at a flat monthly rate
✤ Neighboring Clovis has metered water since 1910
✤ Fresno rejected metering in early 1990s referendum

36. Household Water Use in Fresno
✤ Currently, 51% of city water supply is used residentially
✤ 70% of residential water use is for landscape irrigation
✤ No meters: water bill is at a flat monthly rate
✤ Neighboring Clovis has metered water since 1910
✤ Fresno rejected metering in early 1990s referendum
✤ Meters now being installed; target date for full
implementation of metering: 2013 (we hope...)

37. Experimental opportunity

38. Experimental opportunity
✤ The onset of metering in Fresno gives us a “found experiment”

39. Experimental opportunity
✤ The onset of metering in Fresno gives us a “found experiment”
✤ Clovis provides a “control” as an adjacent city with similar
socioeconomics /demographics but >100 yrs of metering

40. Experimental opportunity
✤ The onset of metering in Fresno gives us a “found experiment”
✤ Clovis provides a “control” as an adjacent city with similar
socioeconomics /demographics but >100 yrs of metering
✤ We have an opportunity to examine the socioecological dynamics of
water use in a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) design.

41. Experimental opportunity
✤ The onset of metering in Fresno gives us a “found experiment”
✤ Clovis provides a “control” as an adjacent city with similar
socioeconomics /demographics but >100 yrs of metering
✤ We have an opportunity to examine the socioecological dynamics of
water use in a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) design.
✤ Currently in the Before phase, establishing baseline data

42. Urban Long-Term Research Area
Fresno And Clovis Ecosocial Study

43. External Drivers
Socioeconomic / Ecological
Political Factors Factors
Q5
Biotic Structure
Institutional
Water use policies, Animal Diversity
land use decisions, Disturbance Regimes
metering Q4
Q1 Long-term Press Q2 LULC / Plant
Global Climate Change
Diversity
Short-term Pulses
Water use and availability
Individual Ecosystem
Civic-mindedness,
Q3 Function
identity, socioeconomic water cycles and
status dynamics
Ecosystem Services
water supply, quality
Source for model: Integrative Science for Society
and Environment: A Strategic Research Initiative

44. Main Research Questions

45. Main Research Questions
1. How are institutions of governance &
individual decisions related to water use
& availability in an urban SES?

46. Main Research Questions
1. How are institutions of governance &
individual decisions related to water use
& availability in an urban SES?
2. How is water use & availability related to
residential landscaping (land-use/land-
cover) & plant diversity?

47. Main Research Questions
1. How are institutions of governance &
individual decisions related to water use
& availability in an urban SES?
2. How is water use & availability related to
residential landscaping (land-use/land-
cover) & plant diversity?
3. How are institutional & individual factors
related to land cover & plant diversity at
broader scales?

48. Main Research Questions
1. How are institutions of governance &
individual decisions related to water use
& availability in an urban SES?
2. How is water use & availability related to
residential landscaping (land-use/land-
cover) & plant diversity?
3. How are institutional & individual factors
related to land cover & plant diversity at
broader scales?
4. How does land use & plant diversity affect
bird diversity in cities?

49. Main Research Questions
1. How are institutions of governance &
individual decisions related to water use
& availability in an urban SES?
2. How is water use & availability related to
residential landscaping (land-use/land-
cover) & plant diversity?
3. How are institutional & individual factors
related to land cover & plant diversity at
broader scales?
4. How does land use & plant diversity affect
bird diversity in cities?
5. More broadly, how do the dynamic
interactions & feedback between
institutional/individual actors and an
ecosystem service (water) affect ecological
outcomes (i.e., plant & bird diversity)?

50. Study Area & Sampling Design
Fresno Clovis Metropolitan Area
Fresno Bird Count Study Area
Madera County
California Clovis
Fresno County
Fresno
Fresno County
FBC site Censused in 2008 Habitat surveyed
(N=460) (N=184) in 2008 (N=38)

51. One set of pathways examined

52. One set of pathways examined
✤ Irrigation rate will be positively correlated to the socioeconomics of a
neighborhood.

53. One set of pathways examined
✤ Irrigation rate will be positively correlated to the socioeconomics of a
neighborhood.
✤ Vegetative cover will be partially correlated with an increase in
irrigation.

54. One set of pathways examined
✤ Irrigation rate will be positively correlated to the socioeconomics of a
neighborhood.
✤ Vegetative cover will be partially correlated with an increase in
irrigation.
✤ Bird species richness will be partially positively correlated with areas
containing increased vegetative cover.

55. One set of pathways examined
✤ Irrigation rate will be positively correlated to the socioeconomics of a
neighborhood.
✤ Vegetative cover will be partially correlated with an increase in
irrigation.
✤ Bird species richness will be partially positively correlated with areas
containing increased vegetative cover.
✤ Foraging guild richness will be partially correlated to areas of higher
irrigation.

56. One set of pathways examined
✤ Irrigation rate will be positively correlated to the socioeconomics of a
neighborhood.
✤ Vegetative cover will be partially correlated with an increase in
irrigation.
✤ Bird species richness will be partially positively correlated with areas
containing increased vegetative cover.
✤ Foraging guild richness will be partially correlated to areas of higher
irrigation.

57. Bird Species Richness in the FCMA
• In 2008
• 186 points surveyed by 30
volunteers
• 68 bird species recorded
• 3,263 total birds
• Average species richness
per site 5.13 ± 0.16 SE
!"#$%&&$ #"'$%&&$ '"($%&&$ ("!)$%&&$

58. Multivariate drivers of bird diversity
Model based inference based on comparison of 56 models. Best model (lowest AICc = 119.67):
8 parameters, 3 interaction terms Whole model R2=0.68 (adj. R2=0.52), F(12,25)=4.47, P=0.0008
Source +ve/-ve F-ratio P value
Mode of Irrigation * %Population Below Poverty - 8.28 0.008
% Grass Cover * % Population Below Poverty + 7.71 0.01
Mean Grass Height * % Population Below Poverty - 3.16 0.09
Mean Irrigation Score - 3.03 0.09
% Open Canopy + 2.85 0.10
% Building - 2.28 0.14
% Grass + 1.56 0.22
Mean Irrigation * Mode of Irrigation + 1.12 0.29
Mean Grass Height + 1.01 0.32
Mode of Irrigation - 0.75 0.45
% Population below Poverty - 0.50 0.48

59. Poverty, irrigation, & bird diversity

60. Poverty, irrigation, & bird diversity
✤ Residential irrigation decreased significantly with increased % poverty.

61. Poverty, irrigation, & bird diversity
✤ Residential irrigation decreased significantly with increased % poverty.
✤ Species Diversity: Multivariate results indicate that poverty has strong
indirect effects on bird species diversity through intermediate variables
including irrigation, % grass, % open canopy, and mean grass height.

62. Poverty, irrigation, & bird diversity
✤ Residential irrigation decreased significantly with increased % poverty.
✤ Species Diversity: Multivariate results indicate that poverty has strong
indirect effects on bird species diversity through intermediate variables
including irrigation, % grass, % open canopy, and mean grass height.
✤ Guild Diversity: Poverty and Irrigation significantly affects bird guild
diversity. Multivariate results show that both poverty and irrigation
have strong effects on bird guild diversity through intermediate
variables including mean grass height and % grass.

63. Other pathways
being studied
✤ Same sampling scheme as FBC
✤ Tree Diversity and Cover
survey (in progress)
✤ Social Survey of individual
households (mailed this week!)
✤ Interviews of institutional
actors (key policy makers &
implementers in city govt;
summer 2011)
✤ Land Use Land Cover (LULC)
analysis (preliminary)

64. It takes a village to study the city...
✤ Paying the bills:
✤ National Science Foundation & U.S. Forest
Service (ULTRA-Ex Award # 0949036)
✤ CSU Fresno: Provost, College of Science
and Mathematics, Division of Graduate
Studies
✤ Robert and Norma Craig Foundation
✤ Fresno Audubon Society
✤ Tucson Bird Count, NiJeL for database
management
✤ Graduate students: Bradley Schleder, Seth
Reid
City of Fresno, City of Clovis, Fresno County
NiJeL!
✤
✤ Citizen Scientists of the Fresno Bird Count!