NCERA192: Improving the Environmental Impact and Management of Turfgrasses
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
NCERA192: Improving the Environmental Impact and Management of Turfgrasses
Duration: 10/01/2006 to 09/30/2011
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Turfgrasses are important components of the landscape that contribute to economic growth, provide environmental benefits, and enrich the quality of life. Turfgrass is the preferred ground cover for parks, playgrounds, sports fields, golf courses, residential lawns, cemeteries, commercial and industrial sites, and roadsides. Nearly 85 million households, 17,000 golf courses and 775,000 sports fields are part of the estimated 50 million acres of urban turf in the U.S. (Morris, 2005). The overall value of the turf industry is approximately $40 billion annually and employs greater than 500,000 persons in the care and maintenance of turf (Morris, 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). Turfgrass seed and sod producers are major industries. In fact, the size of the U.S. turfgrass seed industry is second only to corn. Allied industries include manufacturers and distributors of maintenance and irrigation equipment, chemicals, and fertilizers. Reported lawn care product sales exceed $4 billion annually (Anon. 2003). Recent surveys conducted in North Central Region states list turfgrass among the top four agricultural users in developed areas.
Objectives
-
Investigate the impact of turfgrass on the environment with respect to water quality, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, and pesticide fate.
-
Reduce current inputs typically used in the management of turfgrass in the areas of water conservation, alternative pest control, low-maintenance turf, and use of remote sensing.
-
Develop a comprehensive program of best management practices for the North Central Region through collaborative research and transfer results to industry and academics via web outreach and cooperative education.
Procedures and Activities
Objective 1. Research will be initiated on the fate of pesticides and nutrients. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers will study 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 Michigan State University, a long term research program will evaluate the impact high N applications to home lawn turf through leachate monitoring. A collaborative effort will be initiated at The Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University, and Purdue 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, University of Maryland, Mississippi State University and Oklahoma State University. 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. will collaborate on a project to determine the invasiveness of turf species into natural areas.
Objective 2. NCR-192 members will participate in a regional Low Input Sustainable Turf (LIST) trial that will focus on the persistence and uniformity of 13 alternative species under minimal mowing and no irrigation. Several NCR-192 members will work on the selection and development of turfgrasses with improved pest and environmental stress resistance. The Univ. of Wisconsin and the Univ. of Minnesota will conduct joint research to develop lower-maintenance golf courses by evaluating management and grass species.
Objective 3. Research results will be transferred to thousands of 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 speakers among NCR-192 members at these events will enhance regional dissemination of new technology and methods. 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.turf.uiuc.edu/lawn_problem_solver/index.html), Turfgrasses for the Midwest (http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/NCR-192/Default.htm),Midwestern Turfgrass Weed ID & Control (http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/weed_web/index.htm),Turfgrass Species Tour (http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/turfSpecies/Species.html), Core Aerification Topdressing Model (http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/plantsci/turf/main.htm ), Purdue Turf Tips (http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/index.html), Minnesota Turf Talk (http://www.turf.umn.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. NCERA-192 members will serve as a liaison between new graduates and industry by maintaining Internet sites,listing resumes and job postings.
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Coordination of specific research and extension programs.
- Development of technical standards for turf fertilization.
- Develop appropriate pesticide models for turf across the US.
- Establish Poa annua free golf turf.
- Develop low water use turfgrasses.
- Outcome/Impact 6. Identify turf cultivars which require reduced maintenance and labor costs. Outcome/Impact 7. End users will have access to best management practices and recommendations for turf management and pest control. Outcome/Impact 8. Indentify invasive potential of turfgrases into natural areas.
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, 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/.
Anon. 1998. GVU's WWW user survey. Georgia Tech University. http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys/survey-1998-10/.
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.
Morris, K. 2005. The national turfgrass research initiative. National Turfgrass Federation. www.ntep.org/pdf/turfinitiative.pdf.
Hargittai, E. 2003. Internet use statistics. http://www.eszter.com/netuse.html - education.