• Turfgrass traps and removes dust and dirt from the air.
• The biology of turfgrass makes lawns a near ideal medium for the biodegradation of all sorts of environmental contamination.
• Turfgrass purifies the water as it moves through the root zone and down into our underground aquifers.  Soil microbes help break down chemicals into harmless materials.  This filtration system is so effective rain water filtered through a good healthy lawn is often as much as 10 times less acidic than water running off a hard surface. 
  • Reclaimed water cannot be returned to most municipal water supplies or released into streams, lakes or oceans.  But it can be irrigated onto turfgrass where it's cleaned as it passes down through the root zone. 
  • Ten percent of U.S. golf courses are already using reclaimed water for their turfgrass irrigation.
• Green plants take in carbon dioxide and water and use the energy from sunlight in photosynthesis, which produces carbohydrates for the plant to live off of and releases the true breath of life... pure oxygen.  The area of an average lawn (10,000 square feet) produces enough oxygen to meet the every day needs of a family of 16. 
• On a hot summer day, lawns will be 30 degrees cooler than asphalt and 14 degrees cooler than bare soil.
• The front lawns of eight houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning. That's amazing when the average home has an air conditioner with just a three or four ton capacity.
• The cooling effect of irrigated turf reduces the amount of fuel that must be burned to provide the electricity which powers the air conditioners.
• Watered when the grass plant needs it, turfgrass will very efficiently and effectively use almost every drop.
• Turfgrass acts as a natural filter, reducing pollution by purifying the water passing through its root zone.
• A healthy sodded lawn absorbs rainfall six times more effectively than a wheat field and four times better than a hay field.
• A sodded lawn will absorb greater amounts of rain than a seeded lawn; even after three years of growth.
•  Healthy turf areas absorb rainfall 6 times more effectively than a wheat field and 4 times better than a hay field. A thick healthy lawn reduces runoff almost to zero.  No wonder newly excavated earth is so quickly replanted in sod.  A sodded lawn will absorb greater amounts of rain than a seeded lawn; even after three years of growth.

• A new study conducted by Dr. Ranajit (Ron) Sahu, an independent environmental and energy expert and University instructor, shows that responsibly 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. The findings are based on several peer-reviewed, scientific studies and models where carbon sequestration had been measured in managed and unmanaged turfgrass.  The study, titled Technical Assessment of the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Managed Turfgrass in the United States, goes on to report that to maximize carbon intake benefits, lawns and other turfgrass areas must be actively managed by doing the following:

  • Choosing quality turfgrass species right for your area

  • Mowing your lawn high to develop deep roots

  • Keeping your mower in good shape

  • Leave your clippings on your lawn

  • Watering responsibly

Think Before you remove your lawn- Dr. Ranajit (Ron) Sahu

Information Provided by Turfgrass Producers International