Environmental Benefits of Lawns
When compared to bare ground, turf will reduce the surrounding surface temperature by 30 to 40 degrees. Eight average lawns provide a cooling effect equal to the air conditioners found in 16 homes.
Grass is an efficient filter; it absorbs CO2, ozone, and other noxious gasses while releasing oxygen as a byproduct. As an illustration, a 250-square-foot lawn (the size of a one-car garage) will produce enough oxygen to meet the air quality needs of a family of four.
One of your lawn's biggest contributions to the environment is cleansing the water supply as the water washes and carries the many pollutants through the roots of your lawn. It is estimated that grass traps 12 million tons of dust and particulates each year, filtering the pollutants as the dust is washed back into the soil.
A 1000-square-foot lawn can have a maze of 300 million miles of roots, which trap pollutants before they reach and pollute the ground water supply. With the help of soil microbes, grass converts most of these pollutants into harmless organic compounds that build up our soils to support more life.
More and more attention has been justifiably focused on the natural resources that an improperly managed lawn uses. To fully realize the environmental benefits your lawn can provide, homeowners need to avoid overwatering, synthetic fertilizers, and the overuse of gas-powered lawn equipment.