Investigation of grass species used in parks and gardens under drought stress in temperate climatic conditions

It is clear that drought caused by global climate change is the inevitable problem of our present and future. One of the measures that can be taken is to reduce the amount of water used unnecessarily and unconsciously, which causes an increase in drought. The fact that lawns are used in very large areas despite their high water demand has helped to determine the subject of this study. A lot of water is wasted in the irrigation of such large areas with the wrong selection of grass species and in parallel with this, wrong irrigation strategies. With this study, it is thought that more drought-resistant species can be a solution to this problem with less water consumption and that these species can continue their development even in water scarcity. In the greenhouse environment, temperate climatic conditions were provided with a daytime temperature of 25°C, a nighttime temperature of 20°C and a humidity of approximately 70%. In the study, two different frequently used grass mixtures were selected through market research. For each of the two mixtures, a total of 10 viols, 5 viols each, were sown. During the first month, the same irrigation regime was applied twice a week to all the viols, while during the second month, 5 different irrigation regimes were applied for each mixture. At the end of the second month, short mowing was done and the same irrigation schedule was continued. This cycle was maintained for one more month and short mowing was performed for the last time. Within the scope of the study, shoot length and wet and dry weights were measured. Biomass analysis was performed in the laboratory with the samples taken. One-way Analysis of Variance (One-way ANOVA) was performed with the results of shoot length and wet-dry weight measurements. Moisture, ash, chlorine, fluorine, fluorine, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen content were obtained as a result of biomass analysis. These data, together with the measured height and wet dry weights, were analyzed by PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and Cluster analysis to examine the relationships between variables. As a result of the treatments, it was observed that both mixtures were resistant to short mowing and regenerated new shoots by watering once a week. It was concluded that Festuca arundiacea, Lolium perenne and Poa pratensis species grow with less water consumption while applying grass in areas located in the temperate climate zone or in areas that will turn into temperate climate zones as a result of climate change.