In the Phoenix metropolitan area neighborhoods there are three popular types of landscaping, (1) mesic, consisting of lawn and trees, (2) xeric, consisting of desert- and drought-adapted plants, and (3) oasis, landscaping that combines the grassy swaths of mesic and desert plants of xeric. ARC LTER researchers found that after the socioeconomic stress of the Great Recession, plant species richness of residential yards increased (LEFT) due to a surge in weedy annual species, which corresponded with a simultaneous increase in homogeneity (RIGHT) of residential plant communities. Credit: Julie Ripplinger
