Biochar: How Golf Courses Can Mimic Natural Grasslands to Save 30% in Water Consumption
“Biochar offers an opportunity to create truly sustainable outcomes in design and maintenance.”
Key Data on Biochar from Will Bowden, New Zealand Turf Grass Management:
30-40% increase in volumetric soil moisture content % when using 15% biochar amendment (by weight) in a USGA spec sand
>40% greater turfgrass root depth
Reduction in the leaching of Nitrate (up to 78% reduction measured)
Increase in turfgrass clipping yield
Increase in turfgrass disease resistance
90% reduction in Localized Dry Spot occurrence
Reduction in earthworm casting on the surface
Enhanced color and uniformity (DGCI)
4.6 Billion years – that’s the age of biology, and what we might also consider our best repository of natural research & development. Through trial and error, natural selection has already developed the best solutions for ecological design. The concept or field of biomimicry looks to nature for answers, and it’s time for golf to follow suit with a literal grassroots solution known as biochar.
Effectively, golf takes place on grassland. With a “biomimetic” approach in mind, how might grasslands develop in nature? In other terms, what has been among the best solutions for grasslands to grow and remain healthy? The most fertile grasslands in the world seem to share one thing in common:
Charred soils rich in stored carbon.
When a natural forest fire occurs, biomass burns, leaving a charred, carbon-dense ash behind. These soils tend to offer a more porous cellular structure (as in more holes and greater surface area) that hosts a greater diversity of microorganisms. Overall, the healthier “phytobiome” of charred-soil grassland can provide ideal conditions for retaining the water and nutrients needed to grow and sustain grass – and so we have the Great Plains of North America, among other examples.
That’s where the solution of biochar comes in. It allows one to mimic the soils naturally found in areas of the world such as the Amazon basin and the Great Plains, which can host grass with root depth of up to 10 feet (functioning as carbon sinks, allowing carbon sequestration), and without application of inorganic fertilizers and other harmful chemicals.
In simpler terms, think of grass like an iceberg. Most of it is unseen - hidden within soil as root structure -- and that’s where most of its carbon storage occurs. Healthier grass has larger roots and stores more carbon, and charred soils can produce healthier grass. Moreover, the char itself can be a way to store carbon from the biomass “feedstocks” used to produce it.
No need to worry – producing charred soils doesn’t require randomly lighting things on fire! It’s produced through a controlled process of anaerobic pyrolysis, or heating biomass in the absence of oxygen, typically using a drum or other container. According to Project Drawdown, the waste disposal method of choice in Ancient Amazonia was to bury and burn biomass.
I had spoken previously with Golf Course Superintendent Dan Dinelli of North Shore Country Club about his experiments with biochar, in addition to entrepreneur David Disbrow of Universal Biocarbon who I met at the Golf Industry Show, but only now have I been able to witness clear data and larger-scale case studies.
On 2/22, I had the chance to speak with Will Bowden of New Zealand Turf Management Solutions. Will claims that the biochar-mixed soil amendments he works with can save golf courses a conservative estimate of 30% in water consumption, while reducing the usage of other critical resources, and improving the overall health of turfgrass. This reflects what I heard from Dan Dinelli and David Disbrow just over one year ago, but it’s also only based on data collected thus far, and speaks less to the many exciting possibilities that biochar and similar products could allow, including:
Diverting waste streams as biomass or “feedstock” to create a “carbon negative” char
Matching turfgrass strains to their ideal biochar feedstocks to optimize the health of the plant and reduce input requirements even beyond that conservative estimate of 30%
Applying biochar in the initial phases of golf course design, to establish amenable soils for carbon storage and create a regenerative golf course that improves the carbon cycle
Moreover, biochar has applications far outside of golf, including stadiums, lawn-care, other landscapes, and even food production… but given its social influence and financial capital, perhaps golf could be the leader in accelerating this “engineered carbon sink” solution to scale.
Brief excerpts from my conversation with Will Bowden follow below.
Chat with Will Bowden from New Zealand Turf Management Solutions:
I’m curious about your career path. When did your passions for golf and the environment first intersect? What drove you to start NZ Turf Management Solutions?
My dad was a farmer, and originally, I wanted to be a park ranger. I have always had a love for the outdoors and a passion for the environment – coupled with an enjoyment for golf and a geeky obsession with managing turf that has developed throughout my career.
Like a protector of Middle Earth? Sorry, I had to throw at least one Lord of the Rings reference in there…
*Chuckles… with a hint of disdain* Well New Zealand certainly uses enough references.
What sparked your interest in (and willingness to experiment with) biochar?
Where we are in New Zealand, we’re surrounded by growers and soil amendment producers. About 18 months ago I awakened to biochar. I met Miles Pope from Soilpro soil conditioners. I experimented for about a year with different rates and ratios of sand and biochar, and have been making active recommendations for about 6 months.
What “feedstock” does Soilpro use in its biochar? What feedstock(s) might be feasible, and what might be the most feasible waste reduction opportunities?
Soilpro uses untreated radiata pine for its biochar. Supposedly, cornhusks are seen as the ultimate, though not specific to turf. Our topical amendment for turfgrass is a tri-blend that uses 1/3 biochar, 1/3 aggregated lime, and 1/3 poultry manure, we recommend this when guys want to see some ‘nutritional’ or ‘growth’ – boost from applying the biochar. I have settled upon the 15% by weight recommendation for all other straight biochar applications with sand.
What main challenges might biochar hold the potential to solve for golf?
As a conservative estimate, biochar-amended soils can save 30% in water consumption, but other benefits include a reduction in groundwater nutrient leaching, lower severity and incidence of disease, reduction of all-around inputs, greater root depth (we have measured around a 40% increase in root depth on treated plots), and stormwater filtration, among others. Radiata pine-based biochar amendments are especially good for stormwater filtration when mixed with an aggregated lime. I haven’t fully looked into the “carbon negative” possibilities of biochar, but it could also be a way to store carbon. Effectively, having healthier soil improves the ability of grass to sequester carbon into deeper roots.
What’s your “one-sentence pitch” for biochar? Let’s say… to a golf architect or superintendent.
Biochar offers an opportunity to create truly sustainable outcomes in design and maintenance. For example, using biochar in a sand rootzone helps to buffer critical tolerances in soil moisture (%) content and could therefore allow for more contouring of putting green features.
Where on the golf course might it be applied? In what climates/geographies/contexts? Also, when might biochar be applied or where is opportunity greatest (i.e, design phase vs maintenance vs renovation)?
Firstly, biochar should be seen as a soil enhancer, not an organic fertilizer. It comes with slightly higher upfront costs but allows you to save far more in the long-run. Currently, most of our golf course clients are using biochar as top dressing, but the opportunity is probably greatest in the design phase. It’s possible to apply it anywhere that you have turf, so why not in the initial phase of grow-in? We are also starting to add the inclusion of biochar into our stadium design work now.
In the broader “field” of turfgrass (no pun intended), is golf considered a “thought leader”?
Golf has a great global profile, though we’ve actually seen more uptake from stadiums at the moment. That said, there are a couple of courses trying out our biochar amendments, including Tara Iti Golf Club and Lochiel Golf Club. Some of the golf guys are really focused on innovation and creating ‘cleverer’ outcomes from blending old school philosophies and ideas with new ways of treating and/or applying products.
You’re saying golf is more conservative? How dare you! …but I guess that segues naturally into one of my last questions: What are golf’s biggest vulnerabilities with respect to the environment?
Golf’s biggest vulnerability is its “compromise” narrative – the notion that there’s inherent tension between sustainability and playability, or the perception that sustainability is a cost. I have noticed a significant shift over the past 5-10 years, but it’s still often the case that you are looked at sideways when talking about ‘green’ principles in our industry.
Is it possible for golf to become a “regenerative” industry (say, one that enhances ecological value or natural capital on the whole)?
I don’t see why not! Golf has enormous potential to offer a regenerative approach to the management of greenspace areas. Many of our courses in New Zealand are also accessible to the local community. I believe that our Regional Councils have a real possibility to diversify the utilization of auxiliary spaces on our golf courses and through this consider regenerative strategies that enhance the greenspace beyond the scope of pure sport and recreation.
