Managed Turfgrass:

Reducing our Carbon Footprint

Reducing our carbon footprint is one of our country’s greatest challenges in the coming years. OPEI and the outdoor power equipment industry are committed not only to participating but also to offer bold, substantive ideas to meet this challenge head-on.

  As we all struggle to find a way to offset carbon emissions, many have overlooked one of our most powerful resources: Turfgrass. In early 2008, OPEI tasked Dr. Ron Sahu, an independent energy and environment expert, to perform a study of the carbon benefit of turfgrass based upon existing scientific studies and models.

The report of his findings, titled Technical Assessment of the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Managed Turfgrass in the United States showed us – and the world – what we suspected all along. Well managed lawns sequester, or store, significant amounts of carbon, capturing four times more carbon from the air than is produced by the engine of today’s lawnmowers.

CARBON REPORT FINDINGS

  • Perennial managed grassland systems, such as turfgrass with minimal disturbance, sequesters the greatest amounts of carbon.
  • For and average, managed lawn, turfgrass captures four times the carbon from the air than the carbon output of a typical lawnmower.                                
  • To maximize carbon intake benefits, lawns and other turfgrass areas must be managed by cutting grass, leaving grass clippings, and watering responsively.

A net carbon benefit from well-managed turfgrasses exists. And, this just scratches the surface.

Why just plant trees to offset carbon emissions, when you can plant turfgrass and have carbon effectively stored in the root system? Cap and trade should include a carbon credit for removing asphalt and planting turf.

 Not only does  turfgrass reduce our carbon footprint, but it captures dust and particulate matter, grabs and filters water run-off, and cools areas, especially those marked as “hot spots,” such as commercial roofs and parking lots.

Turfgrass isn’t just a “cosmetic” decision, but an environmentally-responsible choice.

 

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