Evaluation of The Xeriscape Approach in The Context of Sustainable Water Management

Abstract

Urban water stress is intensifying under climate change, rapid urbanization, and increasing climate variability. Outdoor landscape irrigation—especially turf-dominated and high-water-demand planting—constitutes a substantial and often discretionary component of municipal water use, making it a critical target for demand-side water management. Xeriscape (drought-adaptive landscaping) provides an integrated design-and-management framework to reduce irrigation demand through climate-appropriate planning, hydro zoning, soil improvement, mulching, efficient irrigation, and maintenance practices. This review synthesizes international and Turkish evidence on xeriscape within sustainable urban water management and water-sensitive city (WSC) agendas. Following a scoping-review logic and thematic synthesis (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005; Peters et al., 2020), we examine foundational principles, performance evidence (water savings, costs, ecosystem co-benefits), enabling technologies and standards (ET0-based water budgets, smart irrigation), implementation barriers, and adaptation needs across climate regions. The literature indicates that meaningful water savings are achievable when plant selection, irrigation technology, soil/mulch practices, and monitoring are implemented as an integrated system rather than as isolated measures. For Türkiye, scaling xeriscape requires standardized water-budget targets, comparable monitoring indicators, a strengthened native plant supply chain, and policy instruments that combine technical guidance with incentives and public communication.