P A R T N E R SH IP FO R
COVER STORY
POLLINATOR FRIENDLY LAWNS By Jay McCurdy and Isadora de Souza
T
here are an estimated 40 to 50 million acres of turfgrass in the United States, approximately 40% of which is maintained lawn around homes, places of business, and institutions. These living systems play an important role in society by providing places of gathering, recreation, and community cohesion. Turfgrass also provides important ecological services, such as carbon sequestration, noise abatement, and temperature moderation. Unfortunately, because the modern “American lawn” is often maintained as a monoculture, it lacks species richness and habitat for pollinating insects. Mississippi State University, Auburn University, and the University of Georgia are partnering to enrich lawns through best management practices (BMPs) and inclusion of amenity plant species that will attract and sustain pollinating insects. In April 2020, we proposed a project to create BMPs and stakeholder training that will result in more sustainably managed
turfgrass systems for the improvement of pollinator habitat. The USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded our $493,000 project in the beginning of 2021. The project will employ at least three graduate students (one at each institution) for the project. At Mississippi State, coauthor Isadora de Souza will manage much of our state’s research responsibilities.
Refuge Lawn investigators (left to right): Dr. David Held (Auburn University), Dr. Edicarlos de Castro and Dr. Jay McCurdy (Mississippi State University), and Dr. Gerald Henry (University of Georgia).
10 • MISSISSIPPI TURFGRASS • SUMMER 2021
