Value Landscape Engineering (VLE) Lifecycle Analysis David Rosenberg CEE 5460 – Water Resources Engineering

Learning Objectives Describe modeled landscape lifecycle stages, components, inputs, and impacts Enter input data for a landscape Compare costs, required inputs and impacts for two landscapes 2CEE 5460 USU College of Engineering Wiki, or USU College of Engineering Wiki

Why do this? How much will your landscape cost to operate and maintain over the time you own the property? How much water will you need each year and over the landscape life? How much fertilizer and pesticides will you need? How can you achieve a quality landscape and reduce landscape costs, labor, water use, and other inputs? CEE 5460David Rosenberg 3

Applications to Date LocationLandscape(s) ModeledReference(s) Jordan Valley WCD Conservation Garden, Utah Traditional Perennial Woodland Rosenberg et al., 2011 Wasatch Front, UtahTypical residential turfgrass Rosenberg et al., 2011 Wasatch Front, Utah; Nationwide LDS Church stake and ward buildings In progress ??Numerous downloads from Central Utah WCD website present David Rosenberg 4 CEE 5460

Landscape Lifecycle Stages Start-up (first year) –Site preparation –Installation Recurring (successive years) –Annual operations and maintenance (O&M) –Replace features that die or break CEE 5460David Rosenberg 5 Time – Site prep. – Installation – O&M – Replace – O&M – Replace – O&M Economic life

Landscape Components Modeled Vegetable gardens David Rosenberg 6 Trees Turfgrass Hardscape Perennials Annuals Ground covers Shrubs Mulches

Landscape Components (cont.) Irrigation system Site prep. equipment Maintenance equipment Rock walls Lights Fencing Decking

Using the VLE Model 1.Download the Excel 2007 Workbook 2.Enable Macros 3.Select the ‘Cost Summary’ worksheet 4.Enter initial assumptions 5.Enter plant coverage and configurations for up to 3 landscapes 6.Enter purchase prices and lifespans 7.Select the desired Maintenance Level 8.Examine results 9.Modify assumptions CEE 5460David Rosenberg 8

Working with the model CEE 5460David Rosenberg 9 Input Data Intermediary Calculations Final Results Landscapes

4. Enter Initial Assumptions Apply to all landscapes Economic life (Row 6) and Local ET (Row 20) are key! Enter values or use default settings (for Wasatch Front, UT) David Rosenberg 10

5. Enter Plant Coverage & Configuration Total landscaped area in square feet (Row 24) All other plant coverage as a percentage David Rosenberg 11

5. Enter Plant Coverage (cont.) Counts of trees and shrubs Placement of trees and shrubs (in other features) David Rosenberg 12

6. Purchase Prices and Lifespans Drop-down lists: default price options Purchase Price = cost per unit Lifespan = number of years until feature must be replaced Required units = calculated from prior input David Rosenberg 13 CEE 5460

6. Purchase Prices and Lifespans (cont.) Drop-down lists for plant irrigation zones also set irrigation efficiency! David Rosenberg 14 CEE 5460

7. Maintenance Level (Row 138) CEE 5460David Rosenberg 15 SettingRepresentsInput values (fraction of conventional amount) IntenseA landscape or lawn care company Labor1 – 4 Pesticide and herbicide 1.3 Fertilizer (turf)1.3 – 1.5 Water (turf)1.1– 1.3 ConventionalMost do-it- yourself (DIY) homeowners 1

8. Results Annual O&M (Row 140) and Replacement (Row 158) costs Investment (Row 163) and Lifecycle (Row 168) analyses Details on Input/Impact worksheets! David Rosenberg 16 CEE 5460

Enter and Compare Now lets use the VLE Model! David Rosenberg 17

Example 1 How will the 25-year lifecycle cost, required water and labor change if the DIY homeowner replaces the 5 areas of cool season (Kentucky) turfgrass with warm season (Buffalo) turfgrass? (see plan next slide) –Property area = 10,516 sq. ft.; Local ET = 30 inches/year –Trees (all in perennial beds) 2 slow growing trees (Japanese maple and white birch) 3 conifer (Skyrocket juniper) 3 fast growing trees (Eastern redbud, Honeylocust, & Tulip) 1 drought tolerant (Amur Chokecherry) –Sprinkler irrigation system (70% efficient) CEE 5460David Rosenberg 18

CEE 5460 David Rosenberg 19 Example #1

Example 2 How will the 20-year lifecycle cost, required water and labor change if the DIY homeowner –Replaces cool season (Kentucky) turfgrass area #4 with drought tolerant perennials? di = drought intolerant Trees on the property: 6 fruit 20 fast-growing 1 conifer ZoneDescription Area (ft 2 ) Irrigation 1Trees859Drip 2Turfgrass1,708Sprinkler (70%) 3Herb box (di)112Drip 4Turfgrass1,396Sprinkler (70%) 5Flower beds222Sprinkler (70%) 6Roses (di)507Sprinkler (70%) 7Mulch+trees520Drip 8Mulch+trees217Drip 9Mulch+trees112Drip 10Vegi garden756Drip Driveway516 Deck / patio316 Sidewalk120 Total7,360 David Rosenberg 20 CEE 5460

David Rosenberg 21 Example #2

Model Limitations Model default data for Utah Verified for SLC, Utah Substitute site-specific data for default settings Changes in model inputs (initial assumptions, planting area, prices, etc.) affect results Model results generally accurate to 30% Focus on relative changes David Rosenberg 22 CEE 5460

Conclusions VLE provides lifecycle analysis of landscape choices Considers all activities over the landscape life Compare impacts and required inputs for a current landscape and changes to that landscape Adjust landscape components to identify a landscape that saves water and money CEE 5460David Rosenberg 23

Additional Resources VLE Wiki or Wikihttp://vle.cuwcd.com –User’s Manual –Spreadsheet Template –Spreadsheet with 3 worked examples Rosenberg et. al (2011). "Value Landscape Engineering: Identifying Costs, Water Use, Labor, and Impacts to Support Landscape Choice.“ Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 47(3), CEE 5460David Rosenberg 24