Lawn Management Research Articles

Historical Development and Practices of Lawns in China

Abstract Lawn, the most common human-created and culture-shaped habitat in urban green areas, has recently been questioned because of the negative environmental impacts from intensive lawn management. China, a late adopter of lawns, has a great potential to implement sustainable lawns. Based on a literature review, field observations and interviews with local politicians, lawn managers, landscape architects and local residents in Chinese cities, this study seeks inspiration for sustainable lawns within classical Chinese gardening and European examples and identifies the drivers of lawn development in China. The definition of lawns has varied over time, evolving with the changes in the relationship between human and environment. Chinese people's paradigm on lawns is influenced by the trend of Westernisation and globalisation after 1840s. We conclude that shifting the existing paradigm to environmentally friendly lawn aesthetics and bridging the knowledge gap between researchers and practitioners are challenges in achieving sustainable lawns in China. This paper creates a better understanding of the lawn phenomenon in China and is one step ahead in shifting people's paradigm of lawns in countries that are later adopters of lawns.

The effect of Stockosorb® 500 Micro on the growth-production process of Festuca arundinacea Schreb.

The effect of Stockosorb® 500 Micro on the growth-production process of Festuca arundinacea Schreb.

“Turf Management and Construction Handbook for Kindergarten Playground/School” and “Safty Tips for Schoolyard Lawn Management”

“Turf Management and Construction Handbook for Kindergarten Playground/School” and “Safty Tips for Schoolyard Lawn Management”

Drivers of soil and tree carbon dynamics in urban residential lawns: a modeling approach.

Soils constitute the largest sink of terrestrial carbon (C), and urban soils have the potential to provide significant soil C storage. Soils in urbanized landscapes experience a multitude of human alterations, such as compaction and management subsidies, that impact soil C dynamics. While field studies may provide data on urban soil C storage, modeling soil C dynamics under various human impact scenarios will provide a basis for identifying drivers of urban soil C dynamics and for predicting the potential for these highly altered soils to store C over time intervals not typically amenable to empirical validation. The goal of this study was to model soil C dynamics in residential lawns using CENTURY, a dynamic mechanistic model, to determine whether drivers of soil C dynamics in natural systems (e.g., soil texture) were equally useful for estimating soil C content of highly modified soils in urban residential areas. Without incorporating human impacts, we found no relationship between initial CENTURY model simulations and observed soil C (P>0.05). Factors that best explained soil C accumulation for the observed soil C (bulk density, r2 =0.30; home age, r2 =0.37; P<0.01) differed from those found important for the CENTURY model simulations (percent sand, r2 =0.72, P<0.001). Therefore, we conducted a modeling exercise to test whether simulating potential construction disturbance and lawn management practices would improve modeled soil and tree C. We found that incorporating these factors did improve CENTURY's ability to model soil and tree C (P<0.001). The results from this analysis suggest that incorporating various human disturbances and management practices that occur in urban landscapes into CENTURY model runs will improve its ability to predict urban soil C dynamics, at least within a 100-yr time frame. Thus, enhancing our ability to provide recommendations for management and development practices that result in increasing urban soil C storage.

Lawn enforcement: How municipal policies and neighborhood norms influence homeowner residential landscape management

As urban areas expand in population and geographic spread, residential landscapes become more pervasive, which is often associated with an increase in turfgrass that can contribute to changes in water use and nutrient flows. Management of these landscapes is influenced at multiple scales—municipal policies, individual homeowner decision-making, and neighborhood norms, and municipal policies. Most municipalities implement policies that encourage (i.e., weed and grass height ordinances) and restrict (i.e., irrigation ordinances) lawn management. But what is the relationship between yard ordinances, homeowner awareness of these ordinances, and neighborhood yard norms? We explored this question through homeowner interviews and a review of yard ordinances in 17 cities in the Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Area as well as interviews with code enforcement officers. We found most municipalities have lawn irrigation restrictions and weed or grass height ordinances, yet generally rely on complaints from neighbors to enforce these lawn management policies. This may be helpful when it comes to policies reinforcing agreed upon social norms—like grass height ordinances—but may be difficult with policies acting against the norm—like lawn irrigation restrictions. Additionally, homeowners in suburban areas posted high rates of awareness of local policies. Homeowner comments suggest social norms regarding lawn management are present across the urban gradient; weed-free and mowed lawns were most commonly identified. These findings have implications for policy development moving forward as cities face issues related to water scarcity or try to accommodate changing resident desires for natural landscaping.

A Review of Organic Lawn Care Practices and Policies in North America and the Implications of Lawn Plant Diversity and Insect Pest Management

There are ≈40 million acres of turfgrass lawns throughout the United States, most of which are managed under chemical-intensive pest and fertilizer programs. “Organic lawn care” is being adopted more widely; however, unlike the formally defined policies and regulations that govern organic agriculture, the label organic lawn management has not been formally defined and is used to describe a variety of practices. Neighborhoods, cities, states, and provinces across North America are adopting policies regulating the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the landscape. In addition, a small but growing number of public institutions and individual consumers are successfully adopting alternative lawn care methods, including organic lawn care. Although perceived as environmentally friendly, the effects of organic management on insect diversity and pest management remain understudied. Organic lawn management may lead to increased lawn plant diversity, which in agroecosystems has enhanced ecological services provided by beneficial insect species. Effects of vegetative diversity on lawn pest management are less clear. Vegetative complexity and increased plant diversity in urban landscapes may enhance insect predator efficacy. The diversity of predatory insects varies between turfgrass varieties in response to prey populations. Mortality of insectivorous and granivorous ground beetles (Carabidae) while not directly impacted by pest management programs in turfgrass may be indirectly impacted by a reduction in the prevalence of plant species that provide alternative food resources. Previous studies have focused on herbivorous insects as well as predatory and parasitic insects that feed on them. Future studies should assess how lawn plant diversity resulting from organic management practices might impact insect communities in turfgrass.

Comparing nitrous oxide losses from three residential landscapes under different management schemes following natural rainfall events

Lawn management practices that produce aesthetically appealing landscapes may also create environmental conditions that stimulate soil nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes. The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate the effects of lawn management practices on N2O fluxes from three non-replicated distinctly different residential landscapes: a high maintenance fescue (Festuca arundinacea) lawn (HMFL), a low maintenance fescue lawn (LMFL), and a mixed hardwood forested residential landscape (FRL) located in Cary, North Carolina. The specific objectives are (1) to measure the N2O fluxes from three residential landscapes within a fixed 24-h period following natural rainfall events; and (2) to determine the effect of lawn maintenance, season, water filled pore space (WFPS%), temperature, and days after fertilization on N2O flux. The mean N2O fluxes for HMFL (14.3 ± 2.28 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1), LMFL (3.14 ± 0.68 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1) and FRL (0.43 ± 0.08 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1) indicate that residential lawns receiving the recommended amount of fertilizer and frequent irrigation exhibit higher N2O fluxes than non-irrigated fertilized lawns or forested landscapes. Patterns of N2O fluxes from the HMFL and LMFL were associated with timing of fertilizer applications, presence or absence of irrigation, and seasonal fescue growth patterns. For the FRL, lower N inputs and the presence of a decomposing litter layer potentially limited N2O production. Our findings suggest that lawn management practices (i.e., fertilizer applications and irrigation) can create differences in the N2O flux following natural rainfall events.

Incorporating Early Spring Bulbs into Dormant Warm-season Turfgrasses

Many early spring bulb species are naturally found in grassy areas such as meadows or lawns. However, few studies have been conducted to define this concept in maintained lawns, especially warm-season lawns such as zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica) or bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). Four early spring bulb species, including two crocus species (Crocus tommasinianus ‘Ruby Giant’ and Crocus chrysanthus ‘Goldilocks’), reticulated iris (Iris reticulata ‘Cantab’), and snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii) were established in a zoysiagrass lawn site in Fall 2010. In Spring 2011 and 2012, five common preemergence herbicides used on lawns were applied across the plots to determine phytotoxicity. In addition, mowing treatments were started on plots at two timings (15 Mar. and 15 Apr.) to determine how mowing might affect survival and performance of the bulb species. Early performance was good for all bulb species and greater than 50% flower production was observed in the first spring (2011) after planting. However, in the subsequent 3 years (2012–14), the only species that persisted and continued to flower adequately each spring was ‘Ruby Giant’ crocus. Herbicides and mowing did not affect bulb survival or performance in the trial, suggesting that typical lawn management practices will not be deleterious to the bulbs. These results demonstrate that early spring bulbs may be incorporated into dormant, warm-season lawns, but species and cultivar selection will be crucial for long-term performance.

The effects of household management practices on the global warming potential of urban lawns

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are an important component of the greenhouse gas (GHG) budget for urban turfgrasses. A biogeochemical model DNDC successfully captured the magnitudes and patterns of N2O emissions observed at an urban turfgrass system at the Richland Creek Watershed in Nashville, TN. The model was then used to study the long-term (i.e. 75 years) impacts of lawn management practice (LMP) on soil organic carbon sequestration rate (dSOC), soil N2O emissions, and net Global Warming Potentials (net GWPs). The model simulated N2O emissions and net GWP from the three management intensity levels over 75 years ranged from 0.75 to 3.57 kg Nha−1yr−1 and 697 to 2443 kg CO2-eq ha−1yr−1, respectively, which suggested that turfgrasses act as a net carbon emitter. Reduction of fertilization is most effective to mitigate the global warming potentials of turfgrasses. Compared to the baseline scenario, halving fertilization rate and clipping recycle as an alternative to synthetic fertilizer can reduce net GWPs by 17% and 12%, respectively. In addition, reducing irrigation and mowing are also effective in lowering net GWPs. The minimum-maintenance LMP without irrigation and fertilization can reduce annual N2O emissions and net GWPs by approximately 53% and 70%, respectively, with the price of gradual depletion of soil organic carbon, when compared to the intensive-maintenance LMP. A lawn age-dependent best management practice is recommended: a high dose fertilizer input at the initial stage of lawn establishment to enhance SOC sequestration, followed by decreasing fertilization rate when the lawn ages to minimize N2O emissions. A minimum-maintained LMP with clipping recycling, and minimum irrigation and mowing, is recommended to mitigate global warming effects from urban turfgrass systems. Among all practices, clipping recycle may be a relatively malleable behavior and, therefore, a good target for interventions seeking to reduce the environmental impacts of lawn management through public education. Our results suggest that a long-term or a chronosequence study of turfgrasses with varying ages is warranted to capture the complete dynamics of contribution of turfgrasses to global warming.

The grass-free lawn: Floral performance and management implications

Grass lawns are a ubiquitous feature of urban green-space throughout much of the temperate world. Species poor and intensively managed, lawns are ecologically impoverished, however environmentally aware lawn owners are reluctant to implement alternatives due to aesthetic concerns. Developing an alternative lawn format which is both biodiversity friendly and aesthetically pleasing is an imperative for urban greening.We suggest that such an alternative can be provided by replacing the grass lawn by a forb-based mix. To advance this, we tested the floral performance of three groups of clonal perennial forbs (native, non-native and mixed), each maintained using standard lawn management mowing regimes.Our findings show that both the frequency of mowing and the height at which mowing is applied influence floral performance and lawn aesthetics. Species origin was found to influence floral productivity, floral visibility and floral variety within grass-free lawns, with native species providing the greatest floral performance. The behaviour and management of grass lawns was not found to be a suitable analogue for the management of grass-free lawns and grass-free lawns are sufficiently different from grass lawns to require an entirely original management approach. We suggest that the grass-free lawn can provide an aesthetically and environmentally relevant replacement for the ubiquitous and ecologically poor grass lawn.

The role of knowledge in residential lawn management

Researchers have long argued that environmental knowledge is a necessary component for improving individual environmental behavior. We take up this discussion in the context of homeowner lawn management. Using survey data from a 2011 yard care study conducted in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area, we explore the level of knowledge homeowners possess in regards to their lawn, and how this knowledge relates to best management practices as well as the awareness of linkages between the lawn and the local ecosystem. We conceptualize knowledge at an instrumental/technical level and showed that many homeowners were lacking in specific instrumental knowledge of their lawn management. However, individuals with more knowledge of their lawn management were more likely to manage their lawns in a manner consistent with recommended best practices and also were more aware of the local water ecosystem. Essentially, many homeowners had limited knowledge, suggesting that increasing knowledge may help improve best lawn practices, but it alone will not transform homeowners into the highly effective lawn managers.

Sources of variation in home lawn soil nitrogen dynamics.

Urban, suburban, and exurban lawns are an increasingly important ecosystem type in the United States. There is great concern about the environmental performance of lawns, especially nitrate (NO) leaching and nitrous oxide (NO) flux associated with nitrogen (N) fertilizer use. Previous studies of lawn N dynamics have produced conflicting results, with some studies showing high NO leaching and NO flux and others showing lower losses and high retention and cycling of N inputs. We hypothesized that this variation is caused by differences in lawn management and soil properties that control root and soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics that influence N cycling processes. We tested these hypotheses by making measurements of soil NO, root biomass, rates of potential net N mineralization and nitrification, NO flux, and SOM levels in samples from the front and backyards of residential homes in suburban and exurban neighborhoods with contrasting soil types in the Baltimore metropolitan area. There were no differences between front and backyards, between suburban and exurban neighborhoods, or between different soil types. Further, there were no significant relationships between root biomass, SOM, soil NO levels, and NO fluxes. These results suggest that lawns have uniformly high rates of plant productivity that underlies high levels of SOM and N retention in these ecosystems across the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Exploring Homeowner Diffusion of Yard Care Knowledge as One Step Toward Improving Urban Ecosystems

Urban ecosystems are increasingly influenced by residential yard care decisions. This had led researchers to focus on homeowner education programs when it comes to yard care. Typically, the success of programs designed to influence yard care is based on whether the target subject changes his or her behavior in a more environmentally conscious manner. This threshold, however, fails to consider if individuals share this information with their friends and neighbors, thus having a possible spillover effect. In this paper, we focus on the transmission of new lawn management information among neighbors and consider (1) if individuals discuss information they learned in a short-term educational program, (2) what factors are associated with diffusion, (3) what information individuals share, and (4) what barriers to transmission exist. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, we used data from a mailed survey, group discussions, and mailed information exchanges. Results indicate that best management practices for yards can diffuse through the neighborhood (approximately 34 % shared information with their neighbors in a one-month period). In addition, factors such as (1) attending a group discussion, 2) individual social connectedness, (3) length of home ownership, and (4) the presence of children in the household were found to be positively related to increased sharing of information. Also, for lawns, the content of information shared tended to be about increasing grass height and reducing fertilizer applications. Finally, we find barriers to sharing ideas based on spatial, temporal, or perception factors but overcoming some of these barriers is possible.

Adding ecological value to the urban lawnscape. Insect abundance and diversity in grass-free lawns

Insect diversity may be declining even more rapidly than in plants and vertebrates, particularly in areas where indigenous habitats are replaced by an anthropogenic one. The most common component of anthropogenic greenspace is the ornamental lawn. Intensively managed and offering limited habitat opportunities for both plants and insects, lawns are biodiversity poor and ecologically insensitive. An alternative lawn format that positively influences biodiversity and reduces management requirements would be a useful tool in eco-friendly urban greenspace management. In investigating the potential for a forb-only alternative to the grass lawn we sampled both trial grassfree lawn formats and turf lawns to identify any influence that lawn composition and grass-free lawn specific mowing regimes might have on the abundance and diversity of insect families. In addition to the mowing regimes, both the composition and origin of lawn flora were found to significantly influence insect abundance and diversity and these factors rarely interacted. Native-only and mixed origin grass-free lawns hosted greater numbers of adult insects than found in turf and an equivalent diversity of insect families, however the mowing regime applied was distinct from traditional turf lawn management by being substantially less intensive and our results suggest that there is the potential for even greater abundance and diversity via the grass-free format that may offer additional resources to insectivorous garden species such as birds. When the composition of grass-free lawns included native forbs the diversity of insect families was found be sufficiently different from turf lawns to form distinct assemblages and in so doing contribute to beta diversity within urban greenspace. In sum, grass-free lawns may be a useful and aesthetically appropriate tool for adding value to the generally biodiversity poor urban lawnscape.

Soil Carbon Dynamics in Residential Lawns Converted from Appalachian Mixed Oak Stands

The conversion of unmanaged forest land to homesites dominated by managed turfgrass lawns continues to increase and has large potential impacts on biogeochemical cycling. The conversion process from forest into mowed turfgrass involves a major disturbance to soil properties and shift in ecological conditions, which could affect soil physical, chemical and biological properties, including carbon sequestration. We conducted a study on 64 residential properties, ranging from 5 to 52 years since development, to compare soil carbon content, bulk density, temperature, and moisture, between lawns and the surrounding forests from which they were converted. Homeowners were surveyed on lawn management practices and environmental attitudes, and the relationships between these and soil properties were investigated. Soil bulk density was significantly higher in the upper 10 cm of lawns compared to adjacent forest (35% higher at 0–5 cm and 15.6% higher at 5–10 cm). Total soil C content to 30 cm of lawn (6.5 kg C m−2) and forest (7.1 kg C m−2) marginally differed (p = 0.08), and lawns contained significantly greater C (0.010 g C cm−3) than forests (0.007 g C cm−3) at the 20–30 cm soil depth (p = 0.0137). In the lawns, there was a positive relationship between time since development and surface (0–5 cm) C concentration (p = 0.04), but a negative relationship at 20–30 cm (p = 0.03). Surface soils also exhibited a positive correlation between fertilization frequency and C (p = 0.0005) content. Lawn management intensity (fertilizer and pesticide use) increased with environmental commitment. Homeowners with a higher environmental commitment had lawns with greater soil carbon levels. Our results indicate that converting unmanaged Appalachian hardwood forest into managed, turfgrass-dominated residential landscapes may affect C depth distribution, but results in little change in total soil carbon sequestration in the upper 30 cm.

Nature discourses in the residential yard in Minnesota

The residential yard is a relatively unexamined context of nature discourses. We analyzed residents’ nature discourses in their yards that emerged during group discussions about yard care choices in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, USA. We found the following nature discourses: nature as a lawn management type, ecological actor, aesthetic attributes, and limited time and maintenance, and nature in relation to human function. However, participants used the term nature as though it had an agreed upon meaning. These nature discourses are one example of the complexity of homeowner conceptualizations of their yards. The presence of multiple nature discourses discussed as a single idea highlights the need to refine broad references to nature in public outreach messages that seek to promote urban ecosystem quality through yard care choices. Also, the discourse of nature as ecological actor in the yard may be a starting place for communication about ecosystem functions.

Conservation Biological Control and Pest Performance in Lawn Turf: Does Mowing Height Matter?

With >80million United States households engaged in lawn and gardening activities, increasing sustainability of lawn care is important. Mowing height is an easily manipulated aspect of lawn management. We tested the hypothesis that elevated mowing of tall fescue lawn grass promotes a larger, more diverse community of arthropod natural enemies which in turn provides stronger biological control services, and the corollary hypothesis that doing so also renders the turf itself less suitable for growth of insect pests. Turf-type tall fescue was mowed low (6.4cm) or high (10.2cm) for two growing seasons, natural enemy populations were assessed by vacuum sampling, pitfall traps, and ant baits, and predation and parasitism were evaluated with sentinel prey caterpillars, grubs, and eggs. In addition, foliage-feeding caterpillars and root-feeding scarab grubs were confined in the turf to evaluate their performance. Although some predatory groups (e.g., rove beetles and spiders) were more abundant in high-mowed grass, predation rates were uniformly high because ants, the dominant predators, were similarly abundant regardless of mowing height. Lower canopy temperatures in high-mowed grass were associated with slower growth of grass-feeding caterpillars. Higher lawn mowing reduces fuel consumption and yard waste, and promotes a deep, robust root system that reduces need for water and chemical inputs. Although in this study elevated mowing height did not measurably increase the already-high levels of predation, it did suggest additional ways through which bottom-up effects on insect pest growth might interact with natural enemies to facilitate conservation biological control.

Growth inhibitors in turfgrass

Well-maintained lawns are comfortable and safe places for leisure activities and sports practice, and they also bring environmental benefits; for example, they reduce soil exposure to erosion and releases atmospheric CO2, thus reducing the greenhouse effect. However, regardless of the purpose of use or the choice of the plant species to form the lawn, the highest costs involve cutting that is needed to keep the turfgrass at its appropriate height. Successive lawn cutting operations are necessary basically because of the vegetative and reproductive growth of turfgrass which, in Brazil, occurs mainly from October to March. Expenditures with successive mechanical cuttings have fostered the search of alternative procedures to keep lawn plants at appropriate height, such as the use of plant growth inhibitors, an increasingly interesting procedure. Since the use of this technology in Brazil is still at its early stage, the aim of this literature review is to examine aspects associated with lawn management by using growth inhibitors. Another alternative is to increase the knowledge of the classification and rational application of the different compounds currently available in the market.

Water, sediment, and nutrient runoff from urban lawns established on disturbed subsoil or topsoil and managed with inorganic or organic fertilizers

Urban runoff has become an increasingly important environmental concern in recent years. With increasing urbanization, turfgrass area has substantially expanded in North America, and these lawns are often established on subsoil stripped of topsoil. In this study, 24 turfgrass-type tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) plots were established on subsoil or topsoil, and managed with inorganic fertilizer (Scott’s Turf Builder®), organic fertilizer (Nature’s Touch® with enzymes), or no fertilizer (control). A one-hour simulated rainfall at 8.9 cm/hour was applied to the plots, and the time to runoff initiation and total runoff volume were measured. Runoff water samples were analyzed to quantify the amounts of sediment, N (NH4-N), P, K, and S losses. The results indicated that runoff initiation time was almost half in subsoil lawns (12.5 min) than in topsoil lawns (23 min). The total runoff volume and sediment loss were significantly larger in subsoil lawns (11,900 ml and 3,700 mg, respectively) than in topsoil lawns (2,200 ml and 900 mg, respectively). Although the N, P, K, and S losses in runoff were low, they were significantly higher from the subsoil-based than topsoil-based lawns, and were higher from inorganic fertilizer treated lawns than those treated with organic fertilizer. These results highlight the significance of topsoil preservation in city planning and urban development with respect to urban run-off and water quality and show distinct benefits of organic lawn management practices over the conventional inorganic practices for maintaining urban water quality.

Effects of Lawn Maintenance on Nutrient Losses Via Overland Flow During Natural Rainfall Events1

Spence, Porchè L., Deanna L. Osmond, Wesley Childres, Joshua L. Heitman, and Wayne P. Robarge, 2012. Effects of Lawn Maintenance on Nutrient Losses Via Overland Flow During Natural Rainfall Events. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 909‐924. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00658.xAbstract: A sampling system was used to evaluate the effect of residential lawn management on nutrient losses via overland flow generated during natural rainfall events from three residential landscapes: a high maintenance fescue lawn (HMFL), a low maintenance fescue lawn (LMFL), and a mixed forested residential landscape (FRL). A sampling system was located in designated areas within each landscape such that 100% of the runoff follows natural flow paths to the outlet ports and collects in sterile Nalgene® B3 media bags (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rochester, NY). A rainfall event was defined as producing ≥2.54 mm of water. A total of 87 rainfall events occurred during a 20‐month monitoring period. The total runoff volume collected from the LMFL was higher than from the HMFL and FRL, but on average &lt;1% of the total rainfall was collected from the three landscapes. Mean nitrate concentrations from each lawn did not exceed 0.6 mg N/l. Nutrient unit area losses from the HMFL, LMFL, and FRL were 1,000 times less than fertilizer and throughfall inputs, which were due to the presence of well‐structured soils (low bulk densities) with high infiltration rates. This study demonstrated that the frequency of runoff, total runoff volumes, and nutrient losses during natural rainfall events are lower from highly maintained (i.e., irrigation, fertilizer application, and reseeding) densely uniform manicured lawns than low maintenance lawns and forested residential landscapes.