Project Plans FY08

Sustainable Turf Management

Project Leader: Mary Owen

Project Year: 2008

Brief Description

In the highly populated northeastern United States, turf-covered surfaces collectively comprise an integral part of our communities: home, business and industrial lawns; parks and cemeteries; public and private sports fields; municipal, private and public school grounds; golf courses; utility and roadside turf; sod farms; and various other open spaces. Property values, safety of youth and adult sports participants, protection of environmental resources especially water resources, economic viability of businesses and communities, and potential human and non-target exposure to turf management materials may all be impacted by turf management practices.   

Massachusetts is a diverse and rapidly developing state, rich in natural resources.  Massachusetts forests provide ecosystem benefits including climate regulation, freshwater supply, stormwater mitigation, nutrient regulation, biodiversity, soil retention and aesthetics valued at $2.9 billion according to Mass Audubon (2003). According to the MA Department of Agricultural Services, Massachusetts has 6,100 farms with a total of 518,570 acres.  Other natural resource based businesses contribute to the economic vitality and the quality and aesthetic character of life in Massachusetts. For example, 4,250 ornamental horticultural businesses encompass about 79,000 acres.

Yet everyday, Massachusetts loses over 40 acres of open space (MA Audubon, 2003). Massachusetts is home to land use laws which can encourage suburban sprawl and negatively impact farms, forests, surface water, and many natural resource based businesses.  Farmland in Massachusetts, for example, has decreased 10% from 1997 through 2002.  Turf -covered surfaces are critical for maintaining quantity and quality of open space and can positively impact the ecosystem integrity in the face of urban expansion. It is critical that best management practices for maintaining and enhancing these landscapes are developed, communicated, taught, and adopted to effectively protect and enhance water and other natural resources.

Nationally, turf covers 128,000 square kilometers which makes it the largest irrigated crop in the country.  For perspective, this is approximately three times the area of that covered by corn.  The professional workforce involved in the management of turf is diverse. It includes: municipal grounds managers; public and private school grounds managers ; public and private facility grounds managers; lawn care operators; landscapers; athletic field managers; golf course superintendents; construction workers; educators; environmental organizations; regulatory agencies; and affiliated businesses. Much of the workforce, particularly below the management level, enters the industry with little to no horticultural training. Furthermore, a significant percentage has inadequate training in chemical handling and application and therefore little knowledge of positive and potential negative effects on the environment and society.

Activities

• Winter Injury of Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens: www.umasswinterinjury.org
• Winter Injury of Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens: analytical literature review
• Site Visits and Consultations
• Liaison, Leadership and Networking for Professional Turf Industry
• Convene and lead UMass Turf Program Advisory Board
• Environmentally sustainable turf management classes for Master Gardeners
• Technical publication: Protocols for IPM on School and Sports Turf
• Winter Lawn Care Conference
• University of Massachusetts Turf Research Field Day
• Invited Presentations
• Snow Mold Field Days
• Turf IPM Walkabout, a field and discussion workshop
• UMass Amherst turf open house, So. Deerfield
• Turfgrass Identification and Selection Workshop
• Dollar Spot Resistance Field Trials and Oriental Beetle Discussion
• 2008 Turf Season in Review
• www.umassturf.org
• TurfTalk, an electronic message sent as needed through the seasons

Inputs: Time and Effort

Outcomes:

This Project will document progress towards the following:

• Participants will promote, implement or adopt sustainable resource management and environmental best management practices for operating Natural Resources-based businesses
• Participants will have the knowledge and skills to promote, implement or adopt sustainable resource management and environmental best management practices for operating Natural Resources-based businesses
• Participants will increase their knowledge and skill for practices that increase the economic viability of natural resource-based businesses
• Participants will increase their knowledge and skills in practices that prevent and reduce water pollution, and protect and restore water resources

This project is a part of the Agriculture & Landscape program