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Environmental Benefits of Turfgrass
WILDLIFE HABITAT
“Typically, 1.7 times more area on a golf course is used for natural habitat.” Source: “The Role of Turfgrasses in Environmental Protection and There Benefits to Humans” Dr. James B. Beard, Texas A&M University Dr. Robert L. Green, University of California - Riverside
Ponds, lakes, and wetlands are very desirable features as used in parks and golf courses because they create aquatic habitats, as well as diversity in visual landscape aesthetics.
Properly designed urban landscapes that are well maintained promote plant and animal diversity and serve as natural habitats when compared to intensive agriculture and urban residential usage. A naturalized style of golf course design is unquestionably conducive to both golf reaction and wildlife management. Typically, 1.7 times more area on a golf course is used for natural habitats such as roughs, woodlands and water features than the combined area devoted to greens, tees, and fairways.
A study* of golf courses and parks in Cincinnati, OH, has shown conclusively that perching songbirds which include more than half of all bird species, benefit from golf courses, even to the extent that golf courses may be described as bird sanctuaries.
* Andrew, N.J. 1987. Wildlife and related values of park golf course ecosystems. Res. Project Rep. Hamilton County Park District, Cincinnati, OH.
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