Lawn Map of the U.S.

As people convert natural landscapes to human-tailored ones, we change the cycling of water and carbon dramatically. Across the United States, water supplies are under increasing pressure as populations grow. Forests and soils that were once a sink for atmospheric carbon can become sources as the natural landscapes are disturbed.

Among the human-tailored landscapes that influence carbon and water cycles in America are lawns. This color-coded map shows satellite-derived estimates of the fractional turf grass (lawn) area across the United States in shades of green. Areas where a large fraction of the land surface is lawn-covered are deepest green, while locations where the lawns cover a very small (or no) fraction of the land surface are lightest green or white. [ ...more ]