A recent study by Pennsylvania State University’s Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) demonstrates that urban lawns, commonly underestimated in carbon models, continue to absorb CO₂ even during winter, playing a subtle yet significant role in reducing city emissions. Researchers installed eddy covariance towers over a golf course and a cemetery, discovering that turfgrass was photosynthesising in freezing temperatures, despite models having mistakenly predicted it would emit CO₂. By incorporating a dedicated turfgrass category in emissions models, the team improved the accuracy of urban greenhouse gas inventories, especially in cities where lawn coverage accounts for 20–30% of land area, like Indianapolis.
A recent study by Pennsylvania State University’s Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) demonstrates that urban lawns, commonly underestimated in carbon models, continue to absorb CO₂ even during winter, playing a subtle yet significant role in reducing city emissions. Researchers installed eddy covariance towers over a golf course and a cemetery, discovering that turfgrass was photosynthesising in freezing temperatures, despite models having mistakenly predicted it would emit CO₂. By incorporating a dedicated turfgrass category in emissions models, the team improved the accuracy of urban greenhouse gas inventories, especially in cities where lawn coverage accounts for 20–30% of land area, like Indianapolis.
