Sterf R&D yearbook 2015

Page 42

42 sTERF ongoing projects

Multifunctionality in golf courses – effects of different management practices on the ecosystem services carbon sequestration and biodiversity Project period: april 2014 - march 2016 Funding (kSEK) STERF Other sources TOTAL

• 2014 2015 2016 2017 Total 410 0 45 0 455 331 0 0 0 331 741 0 45 0 786

Principal investigator / contact person Thomas Kätterer, Department of Ecology, SLU, P. O. Box 7044, SE 75007 Uppsala,

Sweden. Email: Thomas.Katterer@slu.se

Co-applicants Håkan Marstorp, Dept. of Soil and Environment, SLU Jörgen Wissman, Swedish Biodiversity Centre, SLU Karin Ahrné, Swedish Species Information Centre, SLU Maria Ignatieva, Dept. of Urban and Rural Development, SLU Project objectives

• • •

To evaluate how management of different areas in golf courses affects carbon (C) sequestration and biodiversity To evaluate whether C sequestration potential increases with plant biomass production To evaluate whether plant species and pollinators, i.e. the ecosystem service of biodiversity, are correlated to management intensity, with higher biodiversity in less intensively managed vegetation.

To evaluate whether the biodiversity of the golf course is related to the species richness of the surroundings. To evaluate whether more intensive management with more inputs shows trade-offs between carbon sequestration and biodiversity but not necessarily with grass properties and recreational values for golf players.

Talks at conferences, seminars, meetings etc. in 2015 29 April: Benefit to society of golf courses and extensively managed turfgrass areas –

Workshop; Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China (Jörgen Wissman) 17 June: Turfgrass Field Day; Bioforsk, Landvik, Norway (Jörgen Wissman) 12 Oct. Societal Benefits of Golf - Visit by Netherlands Golf Federation; Sigtuna Golf Club, Sweden. (Jörgen Wissman) 5 Nov.: LAWN stakeholder meeting; SLU Uppsala Sweden (Thomas Kätterer, Tuula Eriksson) Project summary and status as of 1 January 2016

In this study, six golf courses, two courses near three cities in Sweden (Uppsala, Malmö and Gothenburg) are being investigated. Six holes per course have been sampled for both environmental and ecological parameters. After contacts and discussions with managers responsible for the six golf courses in three regions, a total number of 180 interviews was conducted (30 interviews per golf course). Ecological studies The basis of the ecological studies was the difference in ecological effect

between the three types of management regimes studied (fairway, rough and high rough). Plant species richness, number of flowers and number of visiting pollinators all increased with decreasing management intensity, from fairway to high rough. This shows that pol-


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