Performance Assessment of Three Turfgrass Species, in Three Different Soil Types, and their Responses to Water Deficit in Reinforced Cells, Growing in the Urban Environment

• Published in: Weed & turfgrass science Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 338 - 347
• Main Authors: Ow, L.F, Ghosh, S, Chin, S.W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Normalized difference vegetation index; Digital image analysis; Biomass; Drought; Turfgrasses
• ISSN: 2287-7924; 2288-3312

Reinforcement cells are used to aid grass growth and taken together, this serves to extend greenery beyond the conventional spaces of lawns, tree pits, gardens, and parks, and is advantageous to urban cities since space for greening is often limited. Drought has variable effects on plant life and the resilience of turf to drought resistance also varies with species. Changes in photosynthetic ability were more pronounced for media rather than grass species. The media of sand without organic matter was found to be least suited for drought resistance. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and digital image analysis (DIA) data were generally in favour of Zoysia species as oppose to A. compressus. In A. compressus, selective traits such as, a more extensive root system and lower specific leaf area (SLA) were not an underlying factor that assisted this grass with enhanced drought resistance. Generally, WUE was found to be strongly related to plant characterises such as overall biomass, photosynthetic features as well as the lushness indexes, and specific leaf area. This study found a strong relationship between WUE and a suite of plant characteristics. These traits should serve as useful selection criteria for species with the ability to resist water stress.