Your Lawn – A Lot More than Just “Cosmetic”
Front lawns of just eight average houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning, while the average home-size central air unit has only a 3 to 4 ton capacity.
Turfgrasses trap much of an estimated 12 million tons of dust and dirt released annually into the U.S. atmosphere.
Playing fields covered with dense turf have proven safer, as demonstrated by a simple egg drop test. When a dozen raw eggs were dropped from a height of 11 feet onto a two-inch thick piece of dense turf none broke; two thirds of them broke on thin turf from that same height; and from just 18 inches up, all broke on an all-weather track!
Healthy, dense lawns absorb rainfall six times more effectively than a wheat field and four times better than a hay field. Sodded lawns can absorb 10 to 12 times more water than seeded lawns, even after two years of growth, thus preventing runoff and erosion.
Recovery rates among hospitalized patients are often quicker when their rooms view a landscaped area than patients with non-landscaped views. Where vegetation grows, child mortality, suicide and energy consumption are less than in places where there are no plants.
With up to 90% of the weight of a grass plant in its roots, it makes a very efficient erosion prevention device, also removing soil particles from silty water.
Turfgrass helps purify water entering underground aquifers – its root mass and soil microbes act as a filter to capture and breakdown many pollutants.
A Gallup Survey reported 62% of all U.S. homeowners felt investment in lawns and landscaping was as good or better than other home improvements. The investment recovery rate is 100-200% for landscape improvement, compared to a deck or patio that will recover 40-70%. Proper and well maintained landscaping adds 15% to a home’s value according to buyers.
Grass areas quickly affect people’s moods by creating feelings of serenity, privacy, thoughtfulness or happiness, and its yearly cycles of growth and color change, lift human spirits and link urban inhabitants with their countryside heritage.
A turf area just 50-feet by 50-feet absorbs carbon dioxide, ozone, and other atmospheric pollutants, and releases enough oxygen to meet the needs of a family of four. The grass and trees along the U.S. interstate highway system release enough oxygen to support 22 million people. |
