Misconceptions can spread on the Internet like dollar weed spreads through a lawn! In its newsletter for March, the Florida Turfgrass Association alerted members to an article published on January 22, 2010 in Geophysical Research Letters by researchers at the University of California, Irvine. The article was about carbon sequestration in turfgrass and the amount of carbon resulting from the care and maintenance of turf. Carbon sequestration is a geoengineering technique for the long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon, for the mitigation of global warming. The article reported conclusions that were fundamentally the opposite of previous research findings.

The FTGA explained the Californians’ research process and their conclusion, “Focusing on four parks in the Irvine area, the study found that greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer production, mowing, leaf blowing and other lawn management practices were four times greater than the amount of carbon stored by grass in parks and lawns.”

Media attention to these findings was extensive, but the study contained errors and miscalculations. The FTGA reported that “Dr. Thomas Rufty and two graduate students at North Carolina State University took apart all of the assumptions and calculations in the research report and found mistakes. Their corrected calculations showed that CO2 generation was 122 g m-2 yr-1 rather than 1238 g m-2 yr-1, a miscalculation of 10X in the original paper.”

The authors of the original article have acknowledged that the new data is the correct data, according to the FTGA. “Unfortunately the corrected data has not generated any media interest. The fact that turfgrass has a positive impact on the environment when it comes to carbon sequestration is not new, hence it is not newsworthy.”

Growing a reputation is just like growing turfgrass – you have to be vigilant about eradicating the weeds! Many thanks to the FTGA for keeping watch. Now, go out and enjoy your lawn, knowing you have a positive impact on the environment!