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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Livestock Nutrient Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410944
Research Project: Strategies to Manage Feed Nutrients, Reduce Gas Emissions, and Promote Soil Health for Beef and Dairy Cattle Production Systems of the Southern Great Plains

Location: Livestock Nutrient Management Research

Title: Emissions of carbon monoxide and dioxide from decomposing grass clippings – Case study of football turfs

Author
item SOBOL, LUKASZ - Wroclaw University Of Environmental And Life Sciences
item Koziel, Jacek
item STEGENTA-DABROWSKA, SYLWIA - Wroclaw University Of Environmental And Life Sciences

Submitted to: Frontiers in Environmental Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/14/2025
Publication Date: 9/3/2025
Citation: Sobol, L., Koziel, J.A., Stegenta-Dabrowska, S. 2025. Emissions of carbon monoxide and dioxide from decomposing grass clippings – Case study of football turfs. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 13. Article 1632196. Available: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1632196.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1632196

Interpretive Summary: When grass clippings from sports turfs and lawns are properly composted, they can generate nutrient-rich soil amendments. Lesser known is the extent of air pollution caused by this common practice. In this research, a team of engineers and scientists from Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (Poland) and ARS-Bushland (Texas) studied the environmental impact of clippings composting. It was found that the uncontrolled decomposition of grass clippings can generate significant carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. More research is needed to account for CO emissions in inventories of this highly toxic gas. This research contributes to emission inventories and highlights the relatively minor contribution from decomposing biomass.

Technical Abstract: Sports turfs and urban landscapes generate waste biomass in the form of grass clippings. Decomposing grass clippings can recycle nutrients to soil. However, decomposing can have adverse environmental effects such as gaseous emissions. The magnitude of air pollution caused by gaseous emissions from grass clippings is unknown. This research investigated CO, CO2, and O2 exchange during the decomposition of grass clippings. Emissions from grass clippings collected at four football fields with different levels of fertilization and agrotechnical treatments were studied. The mowed grass was collected throughout the spring-to-autumn football season. The results showed that grass clippings from sports turfs can generate up to 5 times more CO emissions compared to a mixture of grass and cattle manure. CO2 production and O2 consumption were relatively similar for all seasons, except for clippings from the unfertilized pitch. Artificial neural network (ANN) models predicted the CO and CO2 emissions resulting from the disposal of grass clippings with R2 for CO > 0.81 and CO2 > 0.98, respectively. This research contributes to emission inventories and highlights the relatively minor contribution from decomposing biomass.