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Publication Date

7-17-2025

Maintaining turfgrass landscapes - including mowing, irrigation, and fertilization - is an under-recognized source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides. The state of California has ambitious policies to reduce GHG emissions and improve local air quality, however, southern California continues to be one of the most polluted regions in the world; moreover, it is an arid region that relies heavily on imported water to meet diverse user needs. To better understand the significance of turfgrass maintenance as a source of GHG emissions, we calculate the total annual GHG emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emitted from maintaining turfgrass across Los Angeles County (LAC), a geographically large and populous region in coastal southern California. To calculate total annual GHG emissions from turfgrass maintenance in LAC, we combine 1) a spatial analysis of maintained turfgrass landscapes in Los Angeles with 2) behavioral data on the frequency and amount of mowing, irrigation, and fertilization for each turfgrass zone - residential, commercial, public parks, golf courses, college campus and private parks, and cemeteries - and 3) published GHG emissions per area of turfgrass from each of these activities. We find that turfgrass maintenance in LAC produces approximately 536±176 metric kilotons of CO2e per year, which is equivalent to a year’s worth of emission from 119,280 passenger vehicles. Although college campuses/private parks and cemeteries had the highest emissions from maintenance per area per year, residential turfgrass landscapes are responsible for the most GHG emissions because they comprise by far the largest total area of maintained turfgrass in LAC. In contrast to previous work, which most often finds that mowing is the greatest source of GHG emissions, irrigation was the most significant source of GHG emissions in nearly all turfgrass zones due to the large quantities of imported water and variable terrain over which water is transported in the region. Findings indicate that reducing the total area of maintained turfgrass and the intensity of management could lead to significant reductions in emissions and support water conservation efforts in the state; however, turfgrass reductions should be focused on non-functional areas with care taken to avoid furthering inequalities in access to urban greenspaces.

DOI

10.15365/cate.2025.180201

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