Water Relations of Turfgrasses and Implications for Water Conservation as Climate Change

Perennial grasses used for turf express a number of drought resistance mechanisms to maintain a favorable water balance.  These mechanisms are important for drought survival and impact the amount of supplemental irrigation needed to sustain turfgrass vegetative cover in amenity landscapes. Yet, as climate change causes increased evaporative demand within some increasingly adverse environments, management systems that capitalize on physiological mechanisms of drought resistance will be required to ensure turfgrass survival and irrigation water conservation.