Turfgrass Adaptation and Management

Turfgrass systems — the managed grass covers of lawns, athletic fields, and golf courses — interact with soil, water, and atmosphere in ways that have measurable consequences for local water quality and nutrient cycling. Researchers examine how nitrogen applied as fertilizer moves through the root zone and into groundwater, how grass species and cultivars respond physiologically to heat and drought stress, and how soil temperature shapes the microbial processes that govern nutrient availability. A central tension in the field is that dense turfgrass can both protect watersheds by stabilizing soil and threaten them by acting as a conduit for agrochemical runoff, depending heavily on management decisions around irrigation and fertilization timing. Active work focuses on identifying drought-tolerant cultivars with deeper, more efficient root systems and on understanding whether well-managed turfscapes, including golf courses, can meaningfully support biodiversity alongside their primary functions.

Works

33,104

Total citations

230,379

Keywords

TurfgrassBiogeochemical CyclingNitrogen LeachingDrought ResistanceSoil TemperaturesFertilizer Management