Turf for erosion and sediment control - construction of an Australian national demonstration facility

Abstract

Turfgrass has been found to be an effective measure for the control of soil erosion and also for the capture of sediment. Previous research quantifying the capability of turfgrass for this purpose was undertaken and communicated, but did not lead to a substantial increase in market share for erosion control by turfgrass in Australia. The Australian turfgrass production industry has therefore invested substantial resources into the design, construction and operation of a new national Erosion and Sediment Control Demonstration Facility at Cleveland, Queensland, as a technical extension tool. The facility has been designed to demonstrate turf as an erosion control and sediment capture measure compared to other products available on the market including silt fencing, silt socks, coir logs and hydro-seeding. This is the only such facility in Australia and has been met with substantial enthusiasm by the turf and erosion industries as well as local and state government representatives. The construction of this facility presented a number of challenges (described in this paper), and is now becoming a critical extension tool for the turfgrass industry to build the erosion control market share for natural turf.