• Address:
  705 Spear Street
  South Burlington, Vermont 05403
  United States of America
  
  Phone: (802) 391-4135
  Email: femc@uvm.edu
  Website: www.uvm.edu/femc

The Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG) develops and shares science-based knowledge to benefit the environment and economies of the Lake Champlain basin. In 2017, Lake Champlain Sea Grant partnered with 10 Burlington-area businesses and organizations to establish "Raise the Blade" research demonstration sites. The research assessed if differences in soil and grass health exist between lawns cut to 2 inches (what most people in the Lake Champlain basin do) and lawns cut to 3 inches with clippings allowed to decompose (recommended best practices). Initially, an undergraduate fellow, supported by the Simon Family Foundation, established the paired study plots, and began managing them according to standard and recommended practices. After that summer, Lake Champlain Sea Grant hired other undergraduate student interns to manage the study plots and to monitor soil and lawn health over time. LCSG had anticipated running the study until 2027, as it was hypothesized that any changes in soil organic matter and compaction may take many years to occur. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in inability to maintain the study sites and the project became inactive.

• Label: BareGround_Percent

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Cloudy

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• Label: Clover_perent

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• Label: Compaction

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Label: Date

• Storage Type: date

• Measurment Type: datetime
• String Format: M/D/YY

• Label: DeadVegetation_Percent

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Density

• Storage Type: int

• Label: GrassMeasured

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Grass_Percent

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Group

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Label: Infiltration

• Storage Type: decimal

• Label: Moss_Percent

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Mowed

• Storage Type: int

• Label: PartlyCloudy

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Rain

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal

• Label: Site

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• Measurment Type: nominal

• Label: Sunny

• Storage Type: int

• Label: Test

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• Label: Weed_Percent

• Storage Type: int

• Monitoring Methods
  • Started: 2017-06-29
    Ended: 2019-10-05
    
  • Method Description: 2017 Monitoring: Soil compaction, organic matter, soil nutrients, vegetation composition and density, and infiltration rates were measured for the control and treatment on each site before the experiment began. Equal variance student T tests were used to measure whether the treatment and control started with similar parameter measurements. The vegetation height was assessed each week, before and after each mow. Photographs of the treatment and control of each site were taken after every mow to record to help determine lawn’s health and drought resistance. The vegetation composition and density were assessed every other week, and the infiltration rate was measured every other week from July through mid-August, and then assessed once a month for the continuation of the experiment. 2018 and 2019 Monitoring: At each site, initially introduce yourself to the business manager on site. Then demarcate the control plot and test plot at each participating research demonstration site (see photos pages 9-13). At some sites this may require painting a line to allow landscapers to identify where not to mow. Do not paint lines without landowner permission. Whenever possible, simply use flags and signs to mark the sites. Mow the control area to a height of 2 inches and allow clippings to fall to the ground to decompose. (This represents practices of, on average 52% of Lake Champlain Basin homeowners who maintain their grass to 2-3 inches in length, and 73% who allow clippings to remain on the land.) Mow the treatment plot to 3 inches, and also allow clippings to fall to the ground to decompose. Soil Infiltration To control for the amount of water in the soil prior to testing, soil infiltration tests are only done on days with no rain. Randomly place a ring infiltrometer on the control section of the site. Place a piece of wood on top of the upright pipe and drive it 2 cm into the soil with a heavy weight, such as the blunt side of a wood splitter. A line is drawn on the ring infiltrometer to mark this depth. Three lines have been drawn on the inside of the ring infiltrometer to use to estimate infiltration time. Fill the infiltrometer with water up to the highest line. Time how long it takes (in seconds) until the meniscus reaches the second line, and again how long it takes to reach the third line. While both times are recorded, in calculations, only the time it takes for the water to move from the second to third line is used. This allows a similar volume of water to enter the soil at each site prior to testing. Vegetation Composition and Density Using Google’s random number generator, generate 6 numbers, each between 1 and 12. Do not repeat any numbers. Divide the control and treatment squares at each site into 12 sections. Visualize 3 sections on the shorter side, and 4 sections on the longer side (See image 1). Then, to begin each visual assessment, throw a 20-inch PVC pipe square from the side of the site into the section that corresponds to each number generated. This ensures a random selection of each area to be assessed. Determine the vegetation composition and density within each PVC square using a visual assessment. Average the 6 values that are determined. Image 1. The division of the site for the density and vegetation composition tests. Turf Density is a measure of the number of shoots per unit area. A visual rating of 1 to 9 is used with 9 equaling maximum density (Morris & Shearman, n.d.), as seen in image 2 below. Image 2. Turf density of 9. Next, visually estimate the percent bare ground, grass, weed, moss, dead vegetation, and clover like plants (Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium repens, Trifolium pratense) within the PVC pipe square. Soil Compaction Mentally divide both the control and treatment into 9 sections (See Figure 1). Measure soil compaction roughly in the middle of each of these squares. Measure the soil compaction to a depth of 300 penetration resistance units (psi) using a penetrometer. You can borrow the penetrometer (likely for the summer) from Dr. Sid Bosworth. To measure compaction, slowly push the penetrometer into the soil at a steady pace until the compaction reaches 300 psi. Record the depth of the base of the probe in the ground when 300 psi was reached. Record this measurement in centimeters on your data sheet. Fig. 1 Grid for the visual division used in the soil compaction test. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Vegetation Height Measure the average vegetation height in inches with a ruler in 5 to 10 different places on the control plot. You can mentally average these values. Also collect 5 to 10 vegetation height measurements in the treatment plot. Measure the vegetation height during every site visit. When the site is mowed, measure average grass height before and after mowing. UVM Soil Test In fall 2019 soil samples will be collected using the same site map divisions that split each treatment and control site into 12 sections for the vegetation composition and density tests. To collect the soil samples, push a soil auger into the ground until it can go no further. Remove about one inch of grass and thatch from the top of the core obtained with the soil auger. Dump the remaining soil in the auger into a clean bucket after each core is taken. Remove pieces of grass, rocks, and large root masses from the soil and break down any clumps of soil in the sample. The combined sample should be mixed and inserted into a soil sample bag provided by the UVM Soil Testing Lab. Complete a field data sheet for each site and submit samples (marked with site and date) along with the data sheets to the lab for analysis.