Priorities for sustainable turfgrass management: a research and industry perspective
This paper provides a brief review and assessment of the key environmental, regulatory and technical issues facing the turfgrass sector with specific reference to the European context. It considers the range of externalities or ‘drivers for change’ facing the industry, and
the challenges and opportunities available for promoting and achieving more sustainable turfgrass management within the sports, landscape and amenity sectors. The analysis confirms that there are a number of key areas where a concerted research and industrial effort is required. These include
responding to the pressures from government demands for greater environmental regulation, the increasing pressure on natural resources (notably water, energy and land), the emerging role of turf management in supporting ecosystem services and enhancing biodiversity, the continued need to promote
integrated pest management, and the looming challenges posed by a changing climate, and urgent need to adapt. Whilst many of these externalities appear to be risks to the sports turf industry, there will also be significant opportunities, for those where the labour, energy and agronomic costs
are minimized and where the drive to adopt a multifunctional approach to sportsturf management is embraced.
Keywords: Ecosystem services; golf courses; integrated pest management; landscape amenity; natural resources; sport fields
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden 3: Forest and Landscape,University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark 4: Cranfield University, Bedford, UK
2:Publication date: 01 May 2012
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content