40 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2017 DURING THE PAST few years, there have been out- cries from policymakers and local officials to reduce the amount of natural turf and grass within cities. In particular, Governor Edmund Brown Jr. heard these cries in Southern California in 2015. When hit with a drought that seemed never-ending, the fastest solution was to cut out one of the biggest problems: grass. In January 2017, he declared a state of emergency in Southern California due to the state’s driest year recorded in history. The governor encouraged homeowners and cities to begin using lawn alternatives to help cut the amount of water needed for lawn care. Cities have produced several alternatives to grass, including xeriscaping (landscapes which require little or no irrigation) and the use of native plants, rock gardens and synthetic turf to reduce water usage during times of drought. Native landscaping became a popular alter- native to natural lawns because native landscape don’t have to be watered as much to keep healthy and alive. Wild plants or rock gardens maintain themselves, while natural lawns require upkeep for survival. In more drought-prone regions, specifically states such as California, Arizona and New Mexico, native landscaping provides an alternative to caring for lawns and keeping them green. The downfall: without grass, cities are losing many of its benefits. “City leaders’ intentions are good — they want to protect our natural resources,” says Casey Reynolds, executive director of Turfgrass Producers International. However, he says, the actions don’t always lead to the results they want. Duane Klundt from Grassland Oregon says lawn alternatives are short-term solutions. “California had the cash for a grass solution,” he says. “The downside to that is short-term they solved the issue of water, but long-term they took away the benefits of natural grass.” Grass produces oxygen and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Healthy lawns increase soil stability with long roots, which reduces the amount of loose soil, dust and pollutants in the air caused by urban centers. Above all, it keeps the atmosphere cooler than it would if you used synthetic turf or native landscaping. “In urban areas, plants provide cooling by a couple of different mechanisms,” Reynolds says. “Radiative shading from trees is one, but with plants at ground level, you don’t have that. Evaporative cooling is the other. “Pigments in turfgrass leaves absorb solar radiation and instead of giving off this energy as heat, they use it for photosynthesis. As this occurs and leaves release water into the air from its stomata, it basically acts like an air conditioner around our homes.” Fred Mohr, Seedway’s turf seed business manager, adds: “If you were to go outside on an 85-90 degree day and put a hand on natural grass and then on synthetic turf, you wouldn’t be able to keep your hand on synthetic turf for very long. Natural grass keeps the atmosphere cooler.” HEAT UP CITIES Native landscapes and lawn alternatives are found in homes and parks from coast to coast, but what do cities lose with the loss of grass? WATER POLICIES ALEX MARTIN A recent graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in English literature and French, Martin enjoyed working with a local youth group and as a fiction editor on the Delta Undergraduate Literary journal. One day she would really like to own a dapper dog with the name of Gatsby. amartin@ issuesink.com