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ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH: 1. Measure reference ET from well-watered turfgrasses using eddy covariance. 2. Estimate ET from a sample population of lawns in nearby urbanizing watersheds, taking into account variability in microclimates, soils, and management practices by homeowners, to develop site-specific crop coefficients for individual lawns and watersheds. 3. Measure irrigation water actually applied to those lawns concurrent with ET measurements to estimate extent of excessive irrigation in urban areas.<P> BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH: 1. Explore major perceptions that homeowners have about expected appearances of their lawns by neighbors and how those perceptions affect lawn-care practices (e.g., decisions about irrigation timing and amounts). 2. Investigate perceived barriers and benefits to adoption of more water conservation-friendly irrigation application practices. 3. Determine effectiveness of extension programs (lawn irrigation seminar, web-based lawn irrigation module, and on-site sprinkler system audits) in influencing residential irrigation management behavior by evaluating irrigation applications before and after homeowners have received training. <P>EDUCATION: 1. Develop a new online course "Water Issues in the Lawn and Landscape." 2. Seven topical modules will be presented in developmental order (homeowner perceptions; water availability and quality; relationship between irrigation practices and water quality; weather-based irrigation decision making; low-water-use lawns and landscapes; learning how to perform irrigation system audits; and other approaches to changing water users' habits). 3. Each module will consist of lectures, reading assignments, one or more student activities, peer discussions, and assessments. 4. Curricular contents will be deliverable in modalities of face-to-face, hybrid/blended, fully online, and DVDs for those who may have poor or no connectivity to the internet. 5. Technologies used may involve podcasting, vodcasting, slideshows, still photos, interactive Flash objects, and other multimedia objects. 6. Some of the learning will be automated and other instructor-led.<P>EXTENSION: 1. 70% of all residential homeowners in water districts of each city will participate in surveys or extension programs, which include 2-hr seminars, web-based modules, or one-on-one irrigation system audits. 2. 85% of homeowners participating in programs will indicate willingness to adopt practices that conserve water. 3. 65% of homeowner participants will measurably reduce their lawn-irrigation behaviors to conserve water. 4. Incorporate research results into extension programs, such as Master Gardeners, and publications to continue benefits from this project into the future.
Non-Technical Summary: The area of land covered with turfgrasses is increasing with urbanization, which has significant implications for water quantity and quality. Excessive irrigation may waste limited water resources and increase leaching or runoff of lawn chemicals into the environment. Residential lawns represent the largest sector of turfgrass cover and the greatest opportunity for reducing water waste and detrimental impacts on water quality in urban areas. Our objectives are to: 1) Survey residential homeowners about guiding principles when making decisions to irrigate and their willingness to adapt water-saving practices; 2) Measure evapotranspiration (ET) in lawns concurrently with irrigation to determine degree of excessive irrigation; 3) Integrate survey and research results along with known water conservation strategies in turfgrass management into extension seminars, web-based learning modules, and one-on-one audits to improve irrigation efficiency; 4) Evaluate program effectiveness by comparing lawn irrigation before and after homeowners participate in programs; and 5) Develop an online course for students and continuing education for professionals. Lawn-irrigation behaviors of homeowners in three metropolitan areas with distinct water quantity and quality issues will be investigated in the Great Plains. Surveys, extension program development and implementation, and evaluation of program effectiveness will be conducted in cooperation with water districts. Evapotranspiration in lawns will be estimated using standard models and arrays of weather stations strategically placed to account for microclimatic effects. Measurements of soil and nutrient properties in the profile will determine likelihood of leaching or runoff. Evapotranspiration measurements with eddy covariance will provide reference ET from well-watered turfgrass. The relevance of this project to the goals of NIWQP is to combine research data, survey results, and water-saving recommendations into holistic educational and extension programs that result in water conservation and improvement of water quality in urbanizing watersheds through measurable changes in lawn-irrigation ethos and behaviors of homeowners. <P> Approach: Water districts and lawn-care companies in each city will provide addresses to survey residents about their lawn-irrigation perceptions and behaviors, addresses where separate water meters are installed on in-ground sprinkler systems, historical water-use data by individual address, lists of residents who have and haven't attended pre-existing educational programs, and list of residents who may be willing to allow temporary installation of micro weather stations to study microclimatic effects on evapotranspiration (ET) in lawns. Perceptions of residents in about 60,000 total households will be surveyed about their perceptions of societal and personal expectations about their lawns' appearance, their beliefs about water amounts required to maintain that appearance, and how they make decisions to irrigate. New extension programs will be launched in cooperation with water districts and will include a new lawn irrigation seminar and web-based lawn-irrigation module. Survey results will be incorporated into these programs. Programs will include information about irrigation requirements based on actual ET. Lawn irrigation will be measured where residents have in-ground irrigation with separate in-line water meters. Coefficients will be developed from homes that have in-line meters, which will then be used to estimate the amount of water used for lawn irrigation at residences that do not have separate water meters for lawns. By accessing historical records, we will then be able to estimate irrigation applied to lawns before and after implementation of extension programs to evaluate program effectiveness in bringing change to irrigation behaviors of residents. To evaluate new extension programs developed for this project, we will monitor irrigation before and after residents receive training and compare irrigation of attendees and non-attendees. ET will be measured from 8-12 watersheds each in Olathe and Wichita using micro weather stations, which will be installed in lawns with in-line water meters. After ET is estimated for each lawn, ET will be compared with concurrent irrigation to quantify whether turfgrasses are being excessively irrigated and the likelihood for leaching or runoff. Soil cores (in lawns with micro weather stations) will be collected to check for nutrient loading in the profile and the likelihood of leaching. Actual ET, which will be compared with ET from residential lawns, will be measured at sod farms and golf courses with a trailer mounted eddy covariance system. The trailer will be positioned with a minimum uniform fetch of 80 m in the prevailing wind direction. A new online course will be developed entitled "Water Issues in the Lawn and Landscape." The course will offer instruction on critical water and irrigation issues and would be available to both on-campus and distance education students. The course will include 7 topical modules in developmental order (homeowner perceptions; water availability/quality; relationship between irrigation practices and water quality; weather-based irrigation decision making; low-water-use-lawns and landscapes; auditing irrigation systems, and changing water users' habits.