First Presbyterian Church Franklin, TN

Native Landscaping Native landscaping, like native grasses, uses plants that were native to a given region prior to European settlement Because native plants can require minimal irrigation, mowing, and chemical treatments, native landscaping is presumed to offer substantial savings and environmental benefits compared with conventional landscape designs Native landscaping is promoted as a means to improve the quality of the air, soil and water, help to prevent flooding, control erosion, and enhance biodiversity. Native landscaping can also be a very effective noise buffer.

Facts About Non-Natives A lawn mower pollutes as much in one hour as driving 40 automobiles percent of urban fresh water is used for watering lawns 67 million pounds of pesticides are used on U.S. lawns each year 580 million gallons of gasoline are used in lawnmowers each year $25 billion is spent on lawn care each year in the U.S.

Storm Water Management On an undisturbed site, there is very little surface runoff. Most precipitation infiltrates into the ground and slowly recharges underground aquifers or moves laterally to recharge streams, lakes and wetlands. When surface runoff does occur, it moves slowly across the vegetated landscape, through natural depressions, and via swales into larger streams. In contrast, the developed site produces dramatically more surface runoff due to impervious surfaces and soil compaction. Conventional drainage relies upon curbs, gutters, channels and sewers to quickly convey the water away. As a consequence, pollutants in stormwater runoff are flushed downstream and the pulsating flows contribute to increased flooding and destabilization of downstream channel systems.

Storm Water Management Storm water runoff can cause many serious problems that incur real costs to communities, including: flooding, pollution, groundwater recharge deficits, and damage to stream ecology Research suggests that native landscaping in the form of rain gardens, bioswales, and prairies, may provide a low- cost alternative to large-scale infrastructure solutions to reduce runoff

Benefits to Wildlife The clumped structure of native grass communities makes them ideal habitats for wildlife species that depend on grasses for food, nesting, and cover. Tall fescue and other non-native grasses can spread quickly and form monocultures wherever they are planted. Native grasses, on the other hand, usually occur in diverse mixes. In addition, native grasses often co-exist with species of non-woody herbaceous plants (i.e., forbs) such as legumes and other wildflowers. Grass and forb diversity translates into food diversity. A large variety of seeds and insects attracts a diverse combination of wildlife species

Beneficial Physical Characteristics of Native Grasses In addition to their benefits to wildlife, native warm- season grasses have a number of physical characteristics that make them attractive to land managers. Most native grass species spend their first year after planting developing a strong root system that will eventually extend 5 to 15 feet into the soil. Although this results in a slower payoff above ground, the deep root system of native grasses is beneficial for a number of reasons:

Physical Characteristics Cont. Their deep roots reach moisture, nutrients, and minerals far below the topsoil, so that native grasses can flourish on marginal and dry soils. Deep roots help stabilize the soil, thus reducing erosion. The large root mass of native grasses contributes to an increase in soil fertility. Approximately one-third of the root system of each plant is replaced each year. As these roots decompose, vital nutrients are returned to the soil.

Native & Non-Native Root Structure

Cost Considerations Native plants provide economic benefits and positive externalities beyond the cost of landscape installation and maintenance The environmental services provided by native plants may include mitigating storm water runoff and its associated problems, and filtering fertilizers thus preventing them from reaching a water body Some benefits of native landscaping, like reduced air pollution from less mowing, are difficult to capture as economic values. Therefore, when considering the economic benefits of native landscaping, it is important to keep in mind the environmental value of native landscaping, which is often unaccounted for when considering the costs of installation and maintenance.

First Presbyterian Church Project Original landscape maintenance budget - $15,000 annually (12.5 AC) 5.5 AC of the area was planted with native grasses for a first year cost of $7,500, or half of the annual budget Once established, the cost for maintaining the native grasses is $1,000 annually This brings the annual maintenance cost to $8,500 annually – 43% savings

Cost Comparison

Sources: Department of Environment and Conservation Oak Ridge National Library – Environmental Sciences Division Mid-America Regional Council U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Landscaping with Native Plants Less Lawn – Native Grass Lawns The Blue Thumb – Why Plant for Clean Water?