Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8412 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2016 THE AMERICAN LAWN is the No. 1 irrigated “crop” in the United States, according to a new study co-authored by sci- entists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The study resulted in a paper called, “A Strategy for Mapping and Modeling the Ecological Effects of U.S. Lawns.” Through their research, these scientists found that American lawns take up an area three times larger than that of any other irrigated, which could have a two-pronged effect on the environment. The study’s authors write: “Lawns are ubiquitous in American urban landscapes. However, little is known about their impact on the carbon and water cycles at the national level.” According to the research, which involved the use of NASA satellite imagery, lawns increase carbon sequestration. On the other hand, they require massive amounts of water, especially in drought-stricken areas, such as California. According to the study’s findings, roughly 163,812 square kilo- meters (more than 40 million acres) of land are cultivated with some form of lawn in the continental United States — a total land area bigger than Georgia. That’s gone up from 128,000 square kilometres in 2005, an increase of 22 percent. Lawn Love Affair Simply put, Americans love their lawns and a survey commis- sioned by the American Association of Landscape Professionals (AALP) in 2015 shows that well-maintained yards are important to homeowners — most think it is important to have a yard (83 percent of those surveyed), and 90 percent think it is important that their yard be well-maintained. “The survey results show how deeply Americans value their yards and value professional help to maintain it,” says Sabeena Hickman, AALP chief executive. Eighty-four percent of those surveyed also agree that the quality of a home’s landscaping would affect their decision about whether or not to buy a home. While women are more likely than NASA research shows the American lawn is the most prevalent crop in the country. Marc Zienkiewicz men to say having their yard well-maintained is very important, men are more likely than women to claim that they possess the knowledge and skill to keep their lawn healthy and looking good. On the positive side of things, researchers found that because lawns act as “carbon sinks,” soaking up excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they have value in helping mitigate the effects of climate change, “even assuming removal and bagging of the grass clippings after mowing.” However, the study also uncovered something the research- ers say is cause for concern: the enormous amount of water required to keep all these lawns properly watered. If all the lawns in the U.S. were well watered following com- monly recommended schedules, there would be an enormous amount of pressure on American water resources, especially when considering that drinking water is usually used to irrigate lawns, the researchers note. “In most regions outdoor water use already reaches 50-75 percent of the total residential use,” the authors say. “Because of demographic growth and because more and more people are moving toward the warmer regions of the country, the potential exists for the amount of water used for turf grasses to increase.” In the study, researchers conclude that the benefits could outweigh concerns if certain measures are put in place. These include: • Minimizing the application of fertilizers and pesticides. • Introducing lower input species mixes, such as clover and other so-called weeds. • Decomposing grass clippings on site. • Irrigating with wastewater rather than with drinking water. Researchers highlight the beneficial effects of turf grasses as the carbon sequestration and recreation, which are commonly cited. But other less thought of benefits include storm runoff reduction due to increased soil infiltration during intense rainfall and the removal of impurities and chemicals through percolation of the root zone. SW The Nation’s Top Crop