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Credit: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Water, an increasingly critical resource in the world, factors prominently in turfgrass research. Since the first edition of "Turfgrass Water Conservation," a widely used reference, was released in 1985, the science of turfgrass water use and water conservation has made significant gains.
Now two turfgrass experts have prepared the second edition of the reference book to bring readers' attention to the many advances in the science and technologies of turfgrass water use.
Included for the first time in "Turfgrass Water Conservation" (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2011) are the environmental impact of water use on turf; policy issues; expanded relationships with the landscape; and water use efficiency in soils modified for high quality or high traffic turf.
Other topics the book covers are water conservation in the landscape; developing turfgrasses for drought, salinity, and temperature stress tolerance; water use physiology; irrigation water quality, management, and policy issues; salinity management; and water management technologies.
"The first book had a significant impact upon turfgrass water research and water use," said Stephen T. Cockerham, the superintendent of agricultural operations at the University of California, Riverside, who co-edited the second edition with Bernd Leinauer, a turfgrass specialist at New Mexico State University. "But the science has progressed significantly since the first edition, warranting a new edition."
According to Cockerham, a particularly valuable feature of the second edition is the "Practicum" chapter consisting of practical information, gleaned from each technical chapter. The practicum is geared especially for practitioners, administrators in planning and operations, politicians, public agencies, educators and students.
The first edition of "Turfgrass Water Conservation" followed a symposium in 1983 that Cockerham and Victor A. Gibeault, an internationally recognized expert on water issues, conducted. Cockerham and Gibault co-edited the book. When Gibeault retired in 2007, Cockerham organized a symposium to honor his work. The second edition of "Turfgrass Water Conservation" is a byproduct of this symposium.
"The new edition features articles by many authors from the first edition," Cockerham said. "Contributors also include many of today's young scientists on the cutting-edge of turfgrass research."
The second edition of "Turfgrass Water Conservation" costs $24 and may be purchased here.
The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.
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