Salt Removal Potential of Turfgrass in Golf Courses in the Mediterranean Basin

Abstract: In Mediterranean climates available water is the limiting factor of plant productivity. Hence, due to the lack of water in the Mediterranean regions, potable water luxurious uses – are increasingly contested. In order to solve this problem, non-conventional water resources, like treated wastewater, drainage water and brackish water resources are gaining increasing role in the planning and development of water supplies in the irrigation of golf courses. Generally all these non-conventional water resources are saline. Hence, the application of excessive amounts of freshwater in saline soils and the heavy use of fertilizers are techniques used to mitigate soil salinity and to increase the salt tolerance of turfgrass in golf courses. However, the intense use of these conventional techniques has attracted public attention due to the environmental pollution and the contamination of groundwater resources. In recent years, a new environmentally safe and clean technique, whereby the salt (ion) removing species are planted in the salt-affected soils, has been introduced to mitigate the salinity problems. The salt removal potential of several turfgrass cultivars was evaluated for their efficiency to remove salts (ions) from the soils under this study. Hence, chloride concentration of leaves was the studied indicator, once that chlorides are the most representative salts in this region, due to seawater intrusion. Plant collection was conducted in several golf courses in Algarve, the southern region of Portugal. Results of this study show that Lolium perenne ‘Brighstar ’ tissues accumulated the largest amounts of chloride leaves, followed by the Cynodon dactylon chance hybrid ’Tifwa