Hi monica42882,
Thank you for an interesting question! :)
Study decries mowed lawns
http://www.seizethemagic.com/lol/08projects/lawn.html
WASHINGTON (AP)
"That sweet scent of a freshly mowed lawn may really be the smell of
air pollution. Scientists studying the sources of chemicals in the air
have found that injured grass gives off volatile compounds.
"Wounding, cutting and drying of leaves and stems occur both naturally
and by human activities, wound-induced and drying-induced ...
compounds are expected to be significant in the atmosphere," a team of
researchers says in a study to appear in a future issue of the journal
Geophysical Research Letters. But do not panic. While total emissions
from cutting grass and crops worldwide may seem large, it does not
mean cutting the grass is dangerous for individuals."
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Biological Effects of Volatile Emissions from Cut Grass by Maria L.
Davis* and David L. Robinson, Biology Department, Bellarmine College,
Louisville, KY, 40205
http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/PPT/Ecology/biological_effects_of_volatile_e.htm
Abstract
"Current research on the volatile emissions emanating from
recently-mowed turf-grass indicates that these gases may have a
significant impact on the environment. The purpose of this study was
to observe the effect of gaseous emissions from different species on
the rate of seed germination. In the first study, dandelion (Taraxacum
officinale Weber) and white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima (L.) King &
Robinson [Eupatorium rugosum Houtt.]) seeds were placed into
resealable, plastic bags containing the freshly-harvested foliage (cut
into approximately 4 cm lengths) from a species of plant that commonly
grows in turf. Seeds were treated with the emissions from one of seven
plant species: Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Lolium perenne L.,
Leptochloa fascicularis (Lam.) Gray, Taraxacum officinale Weber,
Trifolium repens L., Glechoma hederacea L., or Plantago lanceolata L.
Germination rates were examined over a 18-day period, and the
foliage-gas treatments that incurred the greatest effects were
examined in more detail in a second experiment. In that study, A.
altissima seeds were germinated in a replicated trial in the presence
of cut foliage from one of four different species (C. dactylon (L.)
Pers., T. officinale, T. repens, P. lanceolata) or an experimental
control. No statistically significant differences were observed for
rate of germination in any of the foliage treatments (including the
control). A third experiment was conducted in which the cut foliage
was placed in sealed flasks in order to allow the build up of gases
from the wounded plants. The gases were then analyzed using gas
chromatography. In addition, the effect of these gases on crickets, a
common grass-dwelling insect, will also be presented.
Introduction
The scent of freshly mowed lawns is well known to many, but one could
ask, "What effect does this "smell" have on ecosystems?" Recently
published research suggests that gas emissions from cut grass are
volatile organic compounds (VOC) that play an important role in the
pollution of the troposphere (de Gouw et al., 1999). Some of the gases
emitted from cut turf have been identified as oxygenated VOC?s such as
methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, and butanone, and C6 oxygenates such
as (Z)-3-hexanal, (Z)-3-hexanol, and hexenyl acetate (Kirstine et al.,
1998; de Gouw et al., 1999). The purpose of our experiments were to
explore the following questions:
If these gases are pollutants, what effect do they have on the
germination of seeds, especially of weeds?
What effect do these gases have on insects?
Will the gases stimulate or inhibit growth?
Will the gases repel insects, attract them, or have no effect?"
[edit]
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Crunchy, Toasty, Tasty, Soppy Greens
http://puttingzone.com/MyTips/crunchy.html
"If the green is recently mowed, the clippings have one smell if they
are moist and another if they are dry. Moist soil also has one smell,
and dry dirt another. This smell is a chemical composition of water,
dust or dirt, and other chemicals from the green that are in the air,
and the air also has a taste when it meets the taste buds. This
"smellable" air is more potent on warm days with a gentle breeze, as
the heat and breeze stir the smell up off the surface because of
evaporation and because hot air rises and moves around more
energetically than cold air. In general, the more potent the smell and
taste, the more likely the green's mositure content is up."
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Grass-Cycling is Good For Your Lawn
http://www.underhill-wecare.com/TipsFAQs.html
"Believe it or not, grass is 85% water! And if your lawn is cut
regularly, taking off no more than one third of the grass blade, then
clippings left on the lawn will quickly decompose, returning valuable
nutrients back to the soil, without increasing thatch build-up.
Proper mowing is the key to effective grass-cycling. Mulching mowers
make grass-cycling easy by chopping clippings into tiny pieces.
Lawns mowed with mulching mowers will be greener and healthier."
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On a very humorous note from Epinions.com - The Bottom Line...
Cutting grass? Isn't there someone I can pay to do that for me?
http://www.epinions.com/content_2824118404
Ahhh, the smell of freshly cut grass in the air. I hate it.
"I hate cutting the grass. I despise it. Truth be told, if I could
afford it, I would kill off every blade of grass in my yard and
replace it with the astro-turf they use at football stadiums. The mere
thought of pacing and plodding back and forth across the yard,
breathing in the foul stench of fresh-cut grass while pushing around
some loud, cranky machine that I can barely keep running is almost
enough to make me sick. You wanna know how much I hate cutting grass?
I can cut my entire yard with a push mower in less than 30 minutes,
but I still pay some neighborhood kid $10 a week to do it for me.
Except today, that is. The kid quit, and I was forced to cut it
myself.
The day had started out so well, my wife had gone off to work at 6:00
am, and I was left alone to soak in the heavenly comfort of our king
size bed. When she leaves early for work,"
[edit]
"Then it happened, I heard a knock at the door. Upon stumbling and
fumbling my way to the door, I found my grass cutting boy standing
there, clearly too well dressed to be pushing around that
noise-polluting death trap of mine. Something was wrong. Yes,
something was very wrong. He informed me that he would no longer be
cutting grass around the neighborhood in the evenings, some nonsense
about needing more time for his homework and studying. Where are his
priorities? Doesn't this young, naive child understand that my hatred
for grass cutting easily outweighs his need to make good grades? My
grass is growing taller by the second, and all he's concerned with is
his education? His future? What's wrong with these kids today?.
After the crying was finished and all the tears had been wiped away, I
was finally able to get a firm grip on the situation. I, the
calm-cool-and-collected one, was clearly in trouble. The boy had
deserted me, the daylight was beginning to fade away, and the grass
was slowly but surely still growing higher in the yard outside."
[edit]
"I looked at the grass, looked down loathingly at the sea of evil,
green, snake-like tentacles, and I made my decree! THIS GRASS HAS
GROWN TALL ENOUGH, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
Friends, you should have seen me out there. I ripped that machine out
of the shed as if it were as light as a toy, and I pushed and pulled
on that mower like it was going out of style. I mowed like a demon
possessed. I was like a madman out there. I didn't just cut the grass,
I cut THE HELL out of that grass. In one hour, I went from "avoid the
grass at all costs" to "A lean, mean, grass annihalating machine, NOW
WHO IS YOUR DADDY"?? It'll be a cold day in hell before that grass
messes with me again, a cold day indeed.You know what's weird though?
When I finished my chore, I looked over at my neighbor's yard, and for
the first time in weeks, I noticed that his grass is now taller than
mine. That just makes me sick, you know. I hate lazy people."
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Google search:
turf grass
turf grass smell when mowed
turf grass odor when cut
turf grass scent
turf grass moisture content
Best regards,
tlspiegel |
