NCERA_old221: Turfgrass and the Environment (was NCERA192)
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
NCERA_old221: Turfgrass and the Environment (was NCERA192)
Duration: 10/01/2011 to 09/30/2016
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Turfgrass is the preferred ground cover for lawns, parks, cemeteries, recreational areas and utility areas like roadsides. The turfgrass seed industry is the 2nd largest seed industry in the US, and much of the nations sod production is incorporated as part of a crop rotation system with food crops in order to reduce pest issues. Turf industry stakeholders indicate a need to identify and address environmental issues related to turfgrass production and management, including water, chemicals, greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainability. The work is important due to the vast acreage (> 50 million acres) and economic impact (>$40 million annually) and employs greater than 500,000 persons in the care and maintenance of turf (Morris et al., 2005). In Illinois for example, there are nearly 1.54 million acres of turf with 936,000 acres of home lawns, 61,600 acres of golf courses and driving ranges on the more than 635 golf courses, and 23,000 acres of sod or turf production (Campbell, et al., 2001). Environmental degradation and reduced economic impact, including jobs and manufacturing, could occur if environmental issues are not addressed through collaborative research and outreach. The technical feasibility is high, there are several dozen engaged scientists in the region who want to collaborate on environmental issues of turfgrass. The advantages for conducting the work as a multi-state effort are 1) provides necessary interdisciplinary expertise, 2) affected watersheds and ecosystems across state boundaries, 3) synergistic activities can be developed as individual states have unique resources, and opportunity to compete for national grants is strengthened, 4) better mentoring of new faculty, 5) the general public will be better informed by a group effort. The project will evaluate novel turfgrass species/cultivars, individual cultural inputs and holistic management systems to meet the goal of sustainable management through the use of reduced or alternative management requirements including underutilized renewable resources like composts. The core focus of these studies will assess the effect of reduced water, nutrients, mowing and pesticide inputs. Anticipated impacts will include more sustainable management practices and informed regulations that better preserve and protect the environment.
Objectives
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Investigate the impact of turfgrass on the environment with respect to water quality, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, nutrient, pesticide and pollutant fate as well as the potential for managed turfgrass areas to function as a soil carbon sink.
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Reduce current cultural inputs typically used to manage turf. Specifically in the areas of novel lower-maintenance turf species, water conservation, reduced nutrient requirements, alternative to synthetic pest control products, and the utilization of remote sensing to determine cultural needs.
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Research the availability and use of biological, landscape and industrial-waste materials to be recycled in turf areas.
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Develop a comprehensive program of best management practices through collaborative research and transfer results to industry and academics via web outreach and cooperative education.
Procedures and Activities
Objective 1.
Research will continue investigating the fate of pesticides, nutrients, and pollutants associated with turf systems. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers are studying the effect of various ratios of impervious to pervious surfaces to mitigate pesticide and nutrient runoff and compare prairie plantings versus turfgrass to determine the appropriate plant material to establish on pervious surfaces. At the University of Nebraska, turfgrasses will be tested for their effectiveness in filtering pharmaceuticals from ground water. At Michigan State University, a long term research program is evaluating the impact of high N applications to home lawn turf through leachate monitoring. A collaborative effort with several universities has been initiated from The Ohio State University to identify the potential to use amino sugar content of the soil as an indicator for developing an N fertilizer credit system that will reduce N leaching potential. A national research project evaluating the fate of pesticides applied to high maintenance turf is currently underway at the University of Minnesota, Mississippi State University and Oklahoma State University. Several Universities including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue are evaluating the effect of phosphorus free lawn fertilizers on turfgrass growth and appearance. The University of Minnesota is also evaluating the effect of grass clipping management (recycling versus removing clippings) on the impact of P runoff and loading into surface water bodies. This research is in response to recently passed state wide legislation restricting the use of P fertilizers applied to turfgrass. Survivability and spread of turfgrasses in natural environments will be evaluated. Participants from North Dakota State University, Univ. of Nebraska, Univ. of Illinois, Univ. of Wisconsin, Purdue Univ. and the Ohio State Univ. are collaborating on a project to determine the invasiveness of turf species into natural areas.
Objective 2.
Several new ideas will be researched to reduce inputs with turfgrass. The use of novel alternative species and improved cultivars will be investigated. Minnesota is taking the lead in continuing the tradition of a regional Low Input Sustainable Turf (LIST) trial that will focus on the persistence and uniformity of several alternative species under minimal mowing and no irrigation (Diesburg et al., 1997; Watkins et al., 2008). Minnesota and Purdue will cooperate in the evaluation of Prairie Junegrass as an alternate turf species. Kansas State University is evaluating the use of rhizomatous tall fescues and assessing Kentucky bluegrass cultivars for reduced water use in lawn. The Chicago District Golf Association has recently joined our group as a contributing research partner. Its lead researcher will lead a collaborative project with several of our universities to quantify the seasonal reduction of fungicide use to control dollar spot by using dollar spot resistant creeping bentgrass cultivars. Southern Illinois will develop protocol and breed for seeded cultivars for use of zoysia in northern states to reduce the use of pesticides, nutrients, water, and mowing. Biological management will be researched to reduce inputs. Purdue will test entomopathogenic nematodes for the control of white grubs. Wisconsin will investigate the use of mycorrhizal relationships to improve turfgrass vigor. Reduction of inputs can be achieved through greater stress tolerance. Nebraska will be testing the use of growth regulators to reduce the need for water. Missouri and North Dakota will look at the degree of salt tolerance and water tolerance among and within turfgrass species as well as management protocols for salt-affected areas. Southern Illinois will providing shade tolerance testing for NTEP cultivar trials. Iowa is isolating genes for cold tolerance to further investigate the use of corn byproducts for weed control in turf. Kansas will investigate the reduction in water use with Texas hybrid bluegrasses. Kansas, Missouri, and Southern Illinois will test zoysiagrasses for their degree of winter-hardiness. Kansas and North Dakota will use technology for instantaneous monitoring of turfgrass respiration, photosynthesis, and evapotranspiration in the development of more precise decision-making protocol and underground irrigation.
Objective 3.
A comprehensive list of potential industrial and biological waste materials in each state will be complied. The usefulness of these materials for turf management and potential impacts on human health will be assessed. Nebraska will investigate the use of common purslane as a food source. Iowa State will research materials for the production of biofuels and investigate the use of biochar from fast pyrolysis for the modification of sand-based rootzones (Brockhoff et al., 2010). Missouri will look at Zoysiagrass large patch and dollar spot control through the use of mustard seed. Several states will evaluate various biosolids as potential nutrient sources for turfgrass.
Objective 4.
Best Management Practices is the title for the information transfer of our findings to the public for the real-world integration of turf management into environmental harmony. Research results will be transferred to thousands of homeowners and professionals in the turf industry and others via annual turfgrass field days, winter turfgrass conferences, regional seminars, and state lawn care, golf, and sports turf association meetings. Exchange of content experts among NCERA-192 members at these events will enhance regional dissemination of new technology and best management practices. Distance education, web-supported interactive programming, and online chat rooms will serve the entire regions turf industry. Current examples include the Lawn Problem Solver (http://www.ksuturf.com/Lawn_Problem_Solver_Site/index.html ), The growing degree day tracker to determine optimum times for pesticide applications in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan (http://www.gddtracker.net/), Midwestern Turfgrass Weed ID & Control (http://www.msuturfweeds.net/), Purdue Turf Tips (http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/index.html), Minnesota Turf Talk (http://www.turf.umn.edu/), Buckeye Turf and Sports Notes (http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/) and others. Additional collaborative projects will be developed and shared. Undergraduate turf academic programs will provide the regional turf industry with highly-valued student interns and technically competent new graduates. NCERA-192 members will serve as a liaison between new graduates and industry by maintaining web-sites, listing resumes and job postings.
New approaches to education will be tested. Web accessible/online turf management courses will be developed at several universities to meet the increasing demand for this form of learning. (Anon., 2005c). Wisconsin will develop a course, Environmental Turf. Wisconsin and will continue the project of connecting children with their alumni grandparents in recreation venues using urban agriculture/turf as a form of developing future students and connecting them with the University. Iowa State is initiating a turfgrass blog (Jones et al., 2010) to communicate with the turfgrass industry in the region (http://www.iaturf.blogspot.com/), Several research projects relate directly to improved Best Management Practices. Purdue will compare the relative expenditures of different lawn turf management programs including natural organic and traditional calendar driven programs. Southern Illinois and North Dakota will bracket the best week/environmental conditions in which to seed tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. Lastly, collaboration with industry will continue in the evaluation of the efficacy and performance for more efficient and precise control of weed, insect, and disease pests.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Outcome 1: Generate quantitative data related to the water and nutrient use for the widely planted turfgrass species and cultivars used for lawns throughout the North Central region. Impact: A greater public awareness of best management practices to responsibly implement supplementary irrigation and fertilization practices for the largest turf acreage, lawns. Additionally, these data will provide information to regulatory groups and policy makers not only in the North Central region but analogous cool-humid region states like those surrounding the Chesapeake Bay and New Jersey which have instituted water and nutrient restrictions.
- Outcome 2: Update the suggested list of recommended species and cultivars for very low maintenance use areas in the North Central region. Impact: For very low maintenance areas such as roadside turf, this type of information regarding adapted and persistent turf species is extremely valuable to state highway departments. Ultimately resulting in fewer re-planting needs, less invasive plants, lower maintenance costs and ultimately less taxpayer money being used for roadside maintenance.
- Outcome 3: A list of commercially available bentgrass cultivars highly resistant to dollar spot will be distributed to golf turf mangers. Impact: If selected and this will reduce golf course managers reliance on chemical fungicides for suppression of this problematic disease and provide improved playing conditions.
- Outcome 4: A listing of regionally produced and available biological, landscape and industrial-waste materials intended for turf use will be compiled. Impact: The performance and effects of these products on turf areas and soil health will be assessed providing more detailed information to those wishing to manage turf using naturally occurring products.
- Outcome 5: Professional turf managers will be using computer generated decision aids like the web-based regional growing degree day tracker to determine optimum pesticide application timing. Impact: Improved product efficacy and fewer pesticide applications.
- Outcome 6: The feasibility of non-synthetic pesticides for insect, weed and disease suppression or control will be provided as a new management option. Impact: This will result in reduced reliance on synthetic materials for turf pest control and less chance for non-target effects of these materials. a. Milestone: Field assessment of the performance of naturally occurring products like mustard or entomopathogenic nematodes will continue in 2011, with wider regional evaluation and testing in subsequent years. Outcome 7: The invasive potential of various turfgrass species in native areas will be assessed and management strategies for the suppression and control of these plants monitored. Impact: Less risk of non-desirable plant species entering native areas and less money being spent on control efforts. a. Milestone: A Wisconsin study has already benchmarked the plant populations in some local areas. As early as 2011 similar areas in surrounding states may also participate. Outcome 8: Suppression and reductions in annual bluegrass populations in recreational turf areas. Impact: Improved persistence and performance of more desirable turf species and less money being spent disease control, irrigation and fertilizer needs on this less persistent species. a. Milestone: Field screening of commercially available industry standard annual bluegrass suppression/control products will continue in 2011. The emergence of novel chemical products will be assessed for their efficacy and safety when applied to turf areas as early as 2011. Outcome 9: A comprehensive list of outreach publications containing information related to turfgrass management in the North Central region will be developed. Impact: This single location of turfgrass management topics will enable those searching for fact-based information on turf management to easily find content appropriate for their situation and more quickly impl
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
Information will be broadly distributed using mass media, Extension bulletins, the Lawn Problem Solver, the Master Gardener Program, Pesticide Applicator Training, cross-linking web pages between states, providing links on the NCERA 192 Web page (http://www.ksuturf.com/NCERA192/main.htm), and participation in each other's turf conferences.
Organization/Governance
The recommended Standard Governance for multistate research activities include the election of a Chair, a Chair-elect, and a Secretary. All officers are to be elected for at least two-year terms to provide continuity. Administrative guidance will be provided by an assigned Administrative Advisor and a CSREES Representative.
Literature Cited
Anon. 2005a. Landscaping / turf sector. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/PESP/publications/vol6se/IIA4h-landsc-turf.htm.
Anon. 2005b. North America. Internet World Stats Usage and Population Statistics. http://www.internetworldstats.com/america.htm - us.
Anon. 2005c. Turf web usage report. WebTrends. March 21, 2005. http://www.WebTrends.com/.
Brockhoff, S.R., N. E. Christians, R J. Killorn, R. Horton, and D.D. Davis. 2010. Physical and Mineral-Nutrition Properties of Sand-Based Turfgrass Root Zones Amended with Biochar. Agron. J. 102:1627-1631.
Campbell, G.E., R.J. Brazee, A.G. Endress, T.B. Voigt, D.F. Warnock, and J.L. Hall. 2001. The Illinois green industry. Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Diesburg, K.L., Christians, N.E., Moore, R. Branham, B., Danneberger, T.K., Reicher Z.J., Voigt, T., Minner, D.D., Newman, R. 1997. Species for low-input sustainable turf in the U.S. upper Midwest. Agron. J. 89:690-694.
Jones, M.A, J.E. Kaminski, N.E. Christians, M.D. Hoffmann. 2010. Using blogs to disseminate information in the turfgrass industry. J. of Online Ed. (In press)
Morris, K. N., M. P. Kenna, C. S. Throssell, and R. C. Shearman. 2005. The National Turfgrass Research Initiative - a national turfgrass research strategy for the USA. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Annexe - Tech. Pap. 10:p. 63-64.
Watkins, E., S. Fei, J. Stier, S. Bughrara, D. Li, D. Gardner, C. Bigelow, B. Horgan, K. Diesburg and S. Andersen. 2008. Low input sustainable turfgrass species for the North Central Region. Annu. Meet. Abstr. Houston, TX: Oct. 5-9, 2008. On CD. In 2008 Agronomy abstracts. ASA, Madison, WI.