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Species and growing media for sports turfs in Mediterranean area
No full textMediterranean climate is characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry
summers. Due to these climatic conditions the region is considered as a transition
zone. Summer drought and high temperatures as well as low temperatures during
winter have a tremendous importance in the choice of the turfgrass species and the
selection of the proper growing medium. Cool-season turfgrasses such as Lolium
perenne and Poa pratensis are commonly used in Italy for sports turfs but their
water requirements are demanding. Festuca arundinacea is the most promising coolseason
turfgrass for the Mediterranean region. Warm-season turfgrasses (Cynodon
spp., Seashore paspalum and Zoysia spp.) could be used more extensively as a water
conservation strategy. However winter dormancy is the most important drawback of
these species and, in order to obtain evergreen turfs, overseeding with cool-season
turfgrasses is required. Increased water efficiency could also be achieved by
introducing internally porous materials both as amendments for rootzone mixes and
as an alternative to sand based growing media. The large availability of internally
porous volcanic materials (lava, pumice and zeolites) in Southern Italy allows their
use as rootzone media since their hydraulic conductivity is similar to that of the sand
while their cation exchange capacity is typical of a soil. Comparisons between silica
and porous sand carried out in field trials showed good performance of volcanic
materials used as growing media. Nevertheless further research is needed to assess
the mechanical stability and the resistance to weatherin
Hydrological Characteristics of Some Volcanic Materials as Affected by Particle Size Distribution and Internal Porosity
No full textA number of internally porous inorganic amendments have been recently introduced to replace peat in rootzone mixes used for golf greens and sports fields. In Italy, volcanic rocks provide a large availability of internally porous materials such as pumice, lapillus and zeolite. Volcanic sands are currently used as substitutes of silica sand. In order to assess the suitability of these volcanic materials for sand amelioration and/or as construction materials, the present research was aimed at studying the water retention and release of these materials considering different particle size distributions and a non-porous silica sand as a reference. Water retention curves were constructed for the internally porous sands as: (a) raw material, (b) graded material with the same particle size distribution of a non-internally porous silica sand. Additionally, available water was determined on specific sand fractions namely coarse sand (0.5-1.0 mm) and medium sand (0.25-0.5 mm) of all the materials. The available water content of raw volcanic materials was higher than of graded sands made of the same materials, thus showing the expected effect of texture on water retention. The comparison of water retention properties of the internally porous materials and non-internally porous silica sand with the same particle size distribution, showed a significant contribution given by internal porosity to water retention. Volcanic coarse sand fraction showed higher water availability than volcanic medium sand fraction. Volcanic materials used as amendments could enhance the water availability of sand-based rootzones, but if used as raw materials the possibility exists for the final mix not to meet the specifications for sports use. The use of sole volcanic sands as rootzone material could have a major impact on water-holding capacity, and hence on management, although investigation on their particle stability is still needed. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
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