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The Effect of Turfgrass Thatch on Water Infiltration Rates¹

ABSTRACT

A high water infiltration rate is important for high quality sports turfgrass areas. An understanding of the effect of thatch and grass plants on water infiltration is needed in order to improve the management practices used to maintain high rates. The objective of this study was to determine if a layer of thatch acts as a limiting layer to water infiltration on coarse-textured sports turfgrass soils.

The effect of a thatch layer on water infiltration rate was determined using laboratory packed sand columns and field turfgrass areas constructed using soil mixtures with high sand content. Data from both laboratory and field experiments demonstrated that after infiltration reaches a constant rate, a layer of thatch did not reduce the water infiltration rate. Initial infiltration rate for thatch-covered sand, however, was lower than the sustained infiltration rate, while the initial infiltration rate into sand without thatch was much higher than the sustained infiltration rate. Initial infiltration rate was very low when sand was covered with a layer of dry thatch, but it increased to near the sustained rate within 10 minutes.

¹ Contribution from the Minnesota Agric. Exp. Stn., University of Minnesota Scientific J. Ser. Paper no. 11875.

² Former Assistant Professor, Dep. of Horticultural Science and Landscape Architecture, and Professor, Dep. of Soil Science, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108. Senior Author is presently Assistant Professor, Dep. of Plant and Earth Sciences, Univ. of Wisconsin, River Falls, WI 54022.

Received for publication September 1, 1981. Accepted for publication February 2, 1982.

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