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Maintenance: Intensive
Lawns
Extensive
areas of lawn on lakeshore properties present a variety of problems:
- Loss of natural habitat and the rich
diversity of life that it supports.
- Removal of native vegetation
that stabilizes shoreline.
- Fertilizers and lawn
chemicals seep into the lake.
- Loss of leisure time by high maintenance demands.
- High water requirements,
particularly in drought years.
- Grass clippings in the
lake add nitrogen and phosphorus when they decay, leading to
increased algae growth.
- Shallow rooted turf grasses
do not hold soil in place as well as deep-rooted native vegetation
does (right).
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Compare the root systems of the turf grass on the
left of the illustration to the root systems of the other three native
plant species. |
