Evaluating the impact of natural products to improve the sustainability or urban lawns

Abstract

It is known that natural products can be used to strengthen and minimise stress of the gardening and sportive lawns, thus reducing the required inputs. In this paper, a trial is designed that allows for the study of the effect of a combination of two biostimulants and water-retaining agent products on different types of lawns. During 6 months, including the summer, soil and plant parameters are evaluated to compare the effects of treatments on soil temperature, humidity, and electrical conductivity, along with the NDVI of the grasslands. Treatment with the water-retaining agent and the second tested biostimulants has increased soil moisture by 10 %, with a greater effect on ornamental grasslands with lower maintenance requirements than sports lawns. The treatments with the two biostimulants without the water retaining agent do not lead to a significant variation in the aspect of the lawn. Marginal increases in the NDVI have been observed in all the treatments, which include the biostimulants. According to these results, it is possible to achieve better water efficiency in managing urban lawns by using natural products, which leads to a more sustainable use of hydric resources.