LET LAWNS LIE: A DISCUSSION ON LAWN CARE AND WATER QUALITY - LAUREN MCGRATH DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM WILLISTOWN CONSERVATION TRUST ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Let Lawns Lie: A Discussion on Lawn Care and
Water Quality
Lauren McGrath
Director of Watershed Protection Program
Willistown Conservation Trust
Goshen Tree Tenders
• Goshen Tree Tenders' mission is to grow the woody cover (trees and shrubs) of "Goshen" with
a preference for native species.
• Everyone can help tree vigor but we do encourage a brief devotion of time to learn the core
useful skills; folks over 18 can still sign up for the May training
at https://phsonline.org/events/phs-tree-tenders-spring-basic-training.
– This will be the 4 Wednesdays of May 6-8pm with a total cost: $40.
• A few weeks ago we did a live-staking project to stabilize a stream. We're participating this
Arbor Day on the W Goshen side.
• Upcoming events: Keep E Goshen Beautiful Day on April 17, Ashbridge Tree plating with with
WCT in the last week of may, and Goshen Tree Tenders host a planting in November.
Contact us at elatoad64@gmail.com
online at https://goshentt.wordpress.com/
Nextdoor.com in the “Tree Tending in E and W Goshen” Group!
Willistown Conservation Trust
Connecting People to the Land
Land
Habitat Stewardship Regenerative Agriculture
Habitat Stewardship
Watershed Protection Bird Conservation
Visit wctrust.org to learn more about our work!
Habitat Stewardship
Why Lawns?
• American residential lawns take up 49,000 square miles, an area nearly equal in size to the entire country of Greece. • When expanded to include all Turf grasses (lawns, parks, athletic fields) that expanded to cover over 62,500 square miles in the continental U.S. • Residential Lawns cover 2% of US Land.
• US lawns cover an area three times larger than any irrigated crop • Lawns account for about half of homeowner water use • Residential lawns require more irrigation than any agricultural crop grown in the country • Americans use 80 million pounds of fertilizers and pesticides on their lawns each year • Americans spend as much as $60 billion a year to maintain lawns
How did we get to this point?
How did we arrive here?Why Lawns? • Lawns as a status symbol date back to the French and English aristocrats in the late Middle Ages. • Considered opulent displays of wealth
“A smooth, closely shaven surface of grass is by far the
most essential element of beauty on the grounds of a
suburban house…Let your lawn be your home’s velvet
robe, and your flowers its not too promiscuous
decoration”
-Frank J Scott, 1870The Chemical Boom • Surplus of fertilizer in the 1950s and a saturation of the agricultural market led companies to promote the use of fertilizer as a means to achieve a thick, green, velvety lawn • Effects of excess nutrients on plant growth and eutrophication in lakes documented at Chautauqua Lake in 1955 • By 1964, the nonfarm fertilizer market was worth $300 million
The Chemical Boom • Water quality regulations in 1970s/80s relied on what could be measured and mitigated using the existing technology, which was point source pollution
Fertilizers • The main components of fertilizers include Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium • Fertilizers used on lawns tend to be Nitrogen rich • Fertilizers can be inorganic or organic •
Pesticides and herbicides • Over 80 million pounds of pesticides are used on U.S. lawns annually • Often a combination of fertilizers and herbicides in a “Weed and Feed” system of lawn treatment • The most commonly applied are 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), Glyphosphate (RoundUp), and Atrazine • Exposure to these chemicals are linked to certain cancers
Glyphosphates • Active ingredient in RoundUp and over 750 herbicides • Evidence of glyphosate toxicity to humans at concentrations lower than what regulations deem safe • The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) cancer authorities – the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) – determined that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015 • Approximately 5 million lbs applied by homeowners annually
Glyphosphates • Labeled as a “water safe herbicide” • Impacts to stream macroinvertebrate communities include decreases in biodiversity, reduced larval growth in a variety of stream life • Toxic on amphibians • RoundUp is more toxic to stream macroinvertebrates than glyphosate alone
Permethrin • Insecticide used for treating yards for ticks and mosquitos • Permethrin is highly toxic to both freshwater and estuarine organisms • Most agricultural, public health, and down-the-drain scenarios modeled resulted in permethrin levels high enough to kill freshwater and estuarine fish, invertebrates, and sediment organisms • The use of this chemical can create a chronic risk to estuarine and/or freshwater organisms • Highly toxic to honey bees
Soil Infiltration
Soil Infiltration • Lawns can act as an impervious surface • Soil movement and compaction during construction processes can alter soil physical properties and change hydrologic characteristics of the area, reducing the amount of infiltration • Excavation procedures and lawn establishment methods appear to affect infiltration of home lawns more than any other factors.
Soil Infiltration • Grass roots grow to half the length of the blade
How to Be a Good Streamside Neighbor
Think Native! • Consider planting portions of your lawn with native plants • Planting even a small number of native plants can greatly improve the habitat quality for birds and pollinators
Let Grass Grow • Consider altering the mowing schedule to let grass grow a little longer this year • Roots grow to half the length of the grass blade
When using Fertilizers • Reduce or stop the use of inorganic fertilizers when possible • Switch to organic fertilizers and soil amendments – Compost or manure • Apply on cool spring days (temperatures between 60-70o F) • Do not apply if heavy rain is in the forecast
When Considering using Pesticides and Herbicides • Reduce or stop the use of chemical pesticide and herbicide use • Switch to organic alternatives like hand removal of pest plants or using organic weed killers like vinegar or corn gluten. – Research plant specific alternatives to chemical treatment! • Carefully read the label and check for any dilution requirements
When Considering using Pesticides and Herbicides • Check the weather before applying to see if there is any rain or strong wind in the forecast. Labels often include recommendations on temperature ranges for maximum efficiency • Consider a spot treatment instead of an entire yard treatment – Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is a good resource!
Questions to ask your Lawn Care Professional • What herbicides and/or fertilizers are you using on my lawn? • What is the purpose of applying x, y or z? Are you familiar with what you are treating on my property? • When and how often are you applying x, y and z? • Did you check the weather forecast? • Is there a certified applicator on site during application? – If not, how much training has the applicator had?
Upcoming talks with Willistown Conservation Trust
– Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer Alizé Carrère
presents ADAPTATION: Creatively Living on a Changing Planet
• Thursday April 15 at 7:00
– Stream Exploration: Discovering Ridley Creek with Lauren
• Wednesday April 21 at 7:00
– “Kiss the Ground” Film Discussion: Why Soil Health Matters
• Thursday April 22 at 7:00Lauren McGrath
Director of the Watershed Protection Program at Willistown
Conservation Trust
Email: LBM@wctrust.org
Mike Cranny
Preserve Manager at Willistown Conservation Trust
Email: MJC@wctrust.orgQuestions?
References
• Battiata, J., Collins, K., Hirschman, D., & Hoffmann, G. (2010). The Runoff Reduction Method. Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education, 146(1), 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1936-704X.2010.00388.x
• Del Toro, I., & Ribbons, R. R. (2020). No Mow May lawns have higher pollinator richness and abundances: An engaged community provides floral resources for pollinators. Peerj, 8, e10021. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10021
• EPA, U. (n.d.). EPA WaterSense | Outdoor Water Conservation & Sustainable Landscaping [Choose from the 8 types, choose only 1]. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/outdoor/index.html
• Ferreira-Junior, D. F., Sarmento, R. A., Saraiva, A. de S., Pereira, R. R., Picanço, M. C., Pestana, J. L. T., & Soares, A. M. V. M. (2017). Low Concentrations of Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Affects the Development of Chironomus xanthus. Water, Air, & Soil
Pollution, 228(10), 390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3536-9
• From Lawn to Meadow. (n.d.). We Conserve PA. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from https://conservationtools.org/guides/151-from-lawn-to-meadow#_ednref1
• Held, D. W., & Potter, D. A. (2012). Prospects for Managing Turfgrass Pests with Reduced Chemical Inputs. Annual Review of Entomology, 57(1), 329–354. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120710-100542
• Homeowner’s Guide to Protecting Frogs. (2000). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Janssens, L., & Stoks, R. (2017). Stronger effects of Roundup than its active ingredient glyphosate in damselfly larvae. Aquatic Toxicology, 193, 210–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.10.028
• Knapp, D. W., Peer, W. A., Conteh, A., Diggs, A. R., Cooper, B. R., Glickman, N. W., Bonney, P. L., Stewart, J. C., Glickman, L. T., & Murphy, A. S. (2013). Detection of herbicides in the urine of pet dogs following home lawn chemical application. Science of
The Total Environment, 456–457, 34–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.03.019
• Md Meftaul, I., Venkateswarlu, K., Dharmarajan, R., Annamalai, P., & Megharaj, M. (2020). Pesticides in the urban environment: A potential threat that knocks at the door. Science of The Total Environment, 711, 134612.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134612
• Mesnage, R., Defarge, N., Spiroux de Vendômois, J., & Séralini, G. E. (2015). Potential toxic effects of glyphosate and its commercial formulations below regulatory limits. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 84, 133–153.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2015.08.012
• Milesi, C., Running, S. W., Elvidge, C. D., Dietz, J. B., Tuttle, B. T., & Nemani, R. R. (2005). Mapping and Modeling the Biogeochemical Cycling of Turf Grasses in the United States. Environmental Management, 36(3), 426–438.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-0316-2
• Montaldo, N., Curreli, M., Corona, R., Saba, A., & Albertson, J. D. (2020). Estimating and modeling the effects of grass growth on surface runoff through a rainfall simulator on field plots. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 21(6), 1297–1310. Scopus.
https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-20-0049.1
• Overmyer, J. P., Rouse, D. R., Avants, J. K., Garrison, A. W., DeLorenzo, M. E., Chung, K. W., Key, P. B., Wilson, W. A., & Black, M. C. (2007). Toxicity of fipronil and its enantiomers to marine and freshwater non-targets. Journal of Environmental Science and
Health, Part B, 42(5), 471–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601230701391823
• Peach, M. E., Ogden, L. A., Mora, E. A., & Friedland, A. J. (2019). Building houses and managing lawns could limit yard soil carbon for centuries. Carbon Balance and Management, 14(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-019-0124-x
• Pelley, J. (2011). Pesticide ban boosts water quality. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9(5), 258–258.
• Qiu, Z., Prato, T., & Wang, H. (2014). Assessing long-term water quality impacts of reducing phosphorus fertilizer in a US suburban watershed. Water Policy, 16(5), 917–929. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2014.163
• Raise the Blade. (n.d.). Lawn to Lake. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from https://lawntolake.org/how-to-help/raise-the-blade/
• Reaves, E. (2020). Glyphosate Interim Registration Review Decision Case Number 0178 (p. 36). United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Relyea, R. A. (2005). The Lethal Impact of Roundup on Aquatic and Terrestrial Amphibians. Ecological Applications, 15(4), 1118–1124. https://doi.org/10.1890/04-1291
• Schäfer, R. B. (2019). Responses of freshwater macroinvertebrates to pesticides: Insights from field studies. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 11, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2019.06.001
• Steinberg, T. (2006). American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Stevens, M. M., Burdett, A. S., Mudford, E. M., Helliwell, S., & Doran, G. (2011). The acute toxicity of fipronil to two non-target invertebrates associated with mosquito breeding sites in Australia. Acta Tropica, 117(2), 125–130.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.11.002
• van de Merwe, J. P., Neale, P. A., Melvin, S. D., & Leusch, F. D. L. (2018). In vitro bioassays reveal that additives are significant contributors to the toxicity of commercial household pesticides. Aquatic Toxicology, 199, 263–268.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2018.03.033
• Whitney, K. (2010). Living Lawns, Dying Waters: The Suburban Boom, Nitrogenous Fertilizers, and the Nonpoint Source Pollution Dilemma. Technology and Culture, 51(3), 652–674.
• Xiang, H., Zhang, Y., Atkinson, D., & Sekar, R. (2020). Effects of anthropogenic subsidy and glyphosate on macroinvertebrates in streams. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(17), 21939–21952. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08505-wYou can also read
