The Carbon Calculator NEW!

Carbon Storage - As plants photosynthesize and grow, they take up molecules of carbon dioxide gas. The carbon and oxygen atoms that make up carbon dioxide are used to build the many parts of all plant cells. In this way, carbon is taken out of the atmosphere and accumulated in plant systems. This carbon storage (sequestration) involves leaves, stems, and roots of all plants, trunks of trees, and the soil when dead plant parts are deposited there. In home landscapes, trees and turfgrasses are two types of plants that may store significant amounts of carbon. This calculation tool will use measurements that you make in your yard to estimate the total amount of carbon being stored. Estimates in the calculator are based on averages of data that are currently available. Scientists and industry are continuing to assess carbon release and storage processes, so calculations of carbon footprints may become more precise in the future. Many factors influence the exact amount of carbon that is taken up by a plant. Some tree species, for example, inherently grow and accumulate carbon faster than others. Turfgrass tends to accumulate carbon more quickly when it is first planted than when it is well-established. And of course, plants that are healthy and growing will store more carbon than those that are not.

Carbon Emissions - When fossil fuels are burned, the carbon stored in them is converted into carbon dioxide gas that is released, or emitted, into the atmosphere. This calculation tool will ask questions about your family’s lawn maintenance practices and automobile driving to make estimates of carbon emissions that you can compare with the amount of carbon storage.

DISEASE IDENTIFICATION

Many diseases occur on the turfgrasses that are used throughout North Carolina. Most of the diseases included here are caused by fungi. Some problems that resemble diseases are caused by environmental or management factors such as cold, heat, drought, high soluble salts, soil compaction, or chemical damage. Careful identification of the cause of a problem is important for the selection of proper control methods.

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

The disease management decision aid returns a list of active ingredients (AIs), ranked according to efficacy, based on the user’s input of turfgrass species and diseases present. Up to 5 diseases can be selected at one time, and the AIs are sorted based on average efficacy against the diseases selected. The user may then select up to 5 AIs to be applied, and a new page is generated for each AI that includes product trade names, application rates and intervals, application instructions, label precautions and restrictions, and recommended strategies to prevent fungicide resistance. Information sheets on each disease are also available, which summarize disease symptoms, factors that foster disease development, cultural control methods, and recommendations on the proper use and timing of fungicide applications.

TURF/CULTIVAR SELECTION

This decision aid will assist you in selecting the best grass and varities based on your environmental and turf use requirements. Results are based on a compilation of commercially available varieties that have exhibited good performance in North Carolina State University research trials across the state. These performance recommendations are based on overall individaul variety quality ratings.

TURF & WEED IDENTIFICATION

Identification of turf grasses and weeds is important for proper turf management. This decision aid will assist you in identifing grasses, broadleafs, and sedges common found in in North Carolina turf environments.

WEED MANAGEMENT

This decision aid targets key weeds common to North Carolina turfgrasses. It presents information from hundreds of herbicide trials performed by Fred Yelverton, Leon Warren, Travis Gannon, Jason Hinton, and others in the Crop Science Department at North Carolina State University from 1997 until the present.

TURF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (TIMS)

The TIMS Water Management Program is available to North Carolinians to calculate and track irrigation use. Using the NC Climate Office current weather data, TIMS can tell you in number of minutes how long to water your lawn.