Sod is better at slowing water runoff and preventing erosion

Seeded slopes show 10 to 12 times greater runoff (7.5 gal/min) than sodded (0.5 gal/min) during high rates of irrigation or rain. In tests, water soaked into sod at a rate or 7.6 inches per hour compared to .23 to .25 inches per hour on slopes with thinner cover.

When nitrates are found in nearby ground water, turf fertilization is sometimes wrongly accused. In fact, tests show that growing sod plants absorb most fertilizer nitrogen almost immediately and very little in the way of applied nutrients escape the grass itself. The small amount of phosphate in turf fertilizers is quickly absorbed by the sod and soil, contributing to plant growth that has many ecological benefits.

Microbes in Turfgrass Sod Help Break Down Chemicals

The use of pesticides on turf has caused concern. Yet, tests show that dense sod slows runoff velocity and allows water to infiltrate where soil microbes degrade the chemicals.

Pesticides watered in after application stay in the thin layer of thatch in healthy sod. The root zones of mature grass plants also provide excellent conditions for more complete herbicide degradation.

Sod Helps Groundwater Replacement

An acre of sod provides an average of 600,000 gallons of water replacement each year under average rainfall.

A typical 150 acre golf course located in the Midwest, for example, will recharge the water table with 90 million gallons of rainwater and snowmelt a year. This golf course would use about 9 million gallons of water a year for irrigation, providing a net gain of 81 million gallons for water table replenishment.

Sod Helps Neutralize Acid Rain

Acid rainfall through healthy Sod can be as much as 10 times less acid in reaction, restoring a more favorable quality to the environment