Water conservation potential of smart irrigation controllers on St. Augustinegrass

McCready, Mary S.; Dukes, Michael D.; Miller, Grady L.

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2009.06.007

Cited by 123 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Increases in soil moisture may significantly accelerate soil N cycling in arid/semi-arid ecosystems (Wang and Pataki 2012), while a combination of high soil N availability and high soil moisture levels in managed lawns could lead to considerable drainage and N leaching (Morton et al 1988) as well as high N 2 O emissions, especially at warm temperatures (Bijoor 2008). ''Smart'' irrigation controllers can reduce water use by automatically adjusting water application based on soil moisture or weather conditions (Davis et al 2009;Devitt et al 2008a;McCready et al 2009). However, relatively few studies have examined lawn plant and soil N dynamics other than leaching losses in response to irrigation (Morton et al 1988;Pathan et al 2007;Synder et al 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen budgets of urban lawns under three different management regimes in southern California

Wang

Haver²,

Pataki

2013

Biogeochemistry

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We constructed nitrogen (N) budgets for the lawns of three simulated residences built to test the environmental impacts of three different residential landscape designs in southern California. The three designs included: a ''Typical'' lawn planted with cool season tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix), fertilized at the recommended rate for this species (192 kg -1 ha -1 year -1 ) and irrigated with an automatic timer; a design intended to lower N and water requirements (''Low Input'') with the warm season seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) fertilized at 123 kg -1 ha -1 year -1 and irrigated with a soil moisture-based system; and a design incorporating local best practices (''Low Impact'' lawn) that included the native sedge species Carex, fertilized at 48 kg -1 ha -1 year -1 and irrigated by a weather station-based system. Plant N uptake accounted for 33.2 ± 0.5 (tall fescue), 53.7 ± 0.7 (seashore paspalum), and 12.2 ± 1.3 % (Carex) of annual N inputs, while estimated N retention in soil was relatively large and similar in the three lawns (41-46 %). At lower N and water inputs than Typical, Low Input showed the highest annual clipping yield and N uptake, although it also had higher denitrification rates. Leaching inorganic N losses remained low even from the Typical lawn (2 %), while gaseous N losses were highly variable. The Low Input lawn was most efficient in retaining N with relatively low water and N costs, although its fertilization rates could be further reduced to lower gaseous N losses. Our results suggest that the choice of a warm-season, C 4 turf species with reduced rates of irrigation and fertilization is effective in this semi-arid region to maintain high productivity and N retention in plants and soils at low N and water inputs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen budgets of urban lawns under three different management regimes in southern California

Wang

Haver²,

Pataki

2013

Biogeochemistry

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“…There are several useful tools available to improve irrigation application including rain sensors, soil moisture sensors, and evapotranspiration controllers (McCready and Dukes, 2011). For example, McCready et al (2009) reported that water use was reduced by 7 to 30% using rain sensors, 0 to 74% using soil moisture sensors, and 25 to 62% using ET based sensors when compared to a typical time based irrigation set to irrigate 2 days a week.…”

Section: Precision Irrigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Irrigation Challenges and Conservation

Moore¹

2012

Irrigation Systems and Practices in Challenging Environments

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“…ET controllers are also used to automate irrigation and crop needs. This technology, sometimes referred to as 'smart technology' (McCready et al, 2009), provides irrigation based on actual water requirements and crop use and also takes weather factors into account. There are generally 2 types of smart controllers: climatological controllers, also called evapotranspiration (ET) controllers, and soil moisture sensor controllers (Dukes, 2102).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are several irrigation controllers that can compute the amount of water applied based on ET and climate conditions (McCready et al, 2009). These systems differ in their accuracy and reliability; however, they all depend on modern electronic sensors, which are capable of collecting and analysing data, and making decisions on when to start/stop irrigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%