Turfgrass, which is widely grown and produces a large amount of biomass, could act as a sink for industrial pollutants in urban and suburban regions. Little research has been conducted regarding heavy metal uptake by turfgrasses. The objective of this study was to evaluate root uptake of lead (Pb) in four turfgrass species. Grasses were grown hydroponically in solutions containing from 0 to 450...

Sodium (Na) constitutes about2.8percent of the earth's crust, in similar proportion to potassium (K) at 2.6 percent. Both elements are chemically similar and exist in soils as monovalent cations (they have a single positive charge). As such, they are bound to cation exchange sites on soil colloids. However, positive sodium ions (Na) attract a larger shell of hydration water than does positive p...

P turfgrasses are characterized by an extremely fine, fibrous root system. This leads to considerable frustration on the part of researchers due to the time-consuming, costly procedures required to accurately study and measure turfgrass roots. Nevertheless, the monitoring of rooting depth and functional viability on a regular basis is an important dimension in any turf manager's information ass...

With the exception of the undesirable characteristic of summer dormancy and the accompanying low aesthetic value, crested wheatgrass has many desirable characteristics in semiarid environments, making it a promising candidate for lower water use turf. Using a population of 27 half-sib families, this study characterized the underlying genetics of turf quality (based on a 1–9 rating scale) of cre...

techniques to estimate nutrient status could decrease the amount of labor needed for sampling, and could Applications of remote sensing in crop production are becoming reduce the cost associated with sampling and analysis. increasingly popular due in part to an increased concern with pollution of surface and ground waters due to over-fertilization of agricultural Destructive tissue testing is a...

Species diversity and abundance of reptiles and amphibians were measured on and off black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies to determine the extent to which herpetological species composition in a shortgrass prairie ecosystem is affected by presence of blacktailed prairie dog colonies. Ten species of reptiles and 3 species of amphibians were captured. Total amphibian and reptil...

Continued reduction in limited natural resources worldwide increasingly necessitates the incorporation of low-maintenance and low-input plant materials into urban landscapes. Some fine-leaved Festuca grass species have been used in formal gardens and native urban landscapes because of their inherent tolerance to abiotic stresses, but native, ornamental types (tall and non-spreading with multico...