Evaluating the tradeoffs between water conservation, aesthetic value, evaporative cooling and CO2 emissions in St. augustinegrass and buffalograss

Abstract

Urban lawns comprise a significant portion of urban greenery and provide several ecosystem services. Nevertheless, maintaining lawns comes with significant water costs in semi-arid inland southern California, as they require consistent irrigation to stay healthy and productive. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a wide range of irrigation rates and frequencies applied autonomously by a smart ET-based controller on the aesthetic value, cooling potential, and CO₂ efflux of two warm-season turfgrass species. For three years, we studied the responses of Buffalograss and St. Augustinegrass to six irrigation rates and two irrigation frequencies in Riverside, California. Under historical average climate conditions, the minimum irrigation rate for Buffalograss was 93 % ET_o, and for St. Augustinegrass, it was 74 % ET_o. Under projected future climate conditions, the estimated minimum irrigation rate for Buffalograss did not change, but for St. Augustinegrass, it increased by 4 % and 7 % in 2100 under low emission (RCP 4.5) and high emission (RCP 8.5) scenarios, respectively. On average, canopy minus air temperature in Buffalograss was 6.2 ℃, and in St. Augustinegrass, it was 1.1 ℃. The average CO₂ efflux in Buffalograss was 122.3 µg CO₂-C m⁻² s⁻¹, and in St. Augustinegrass, it was 182.8 µg CO₂-C m⁻² s⁻¹. Our results showed that turfgrass aesthetic values, cooling potential, and CO₂ efflux diminished as the irrigation rate decreased, but at different rates for each turfgrass species.