All bowling greens play host to a population of micro-organisms numbered in the billions and this can be split down further into smaller groups such as fungi, bacteria and nematodes, all of which have a role to play in maintaining a healthy bowling green.
Keeping the bowling green eco-system in balance is important in order to minimise the exposure of our grass plants to a range of environmental stresses. These stresses can be thought of as environmental constraints to growth and regeneration and can come in many guises, such as a shortage of light, water, nutrition or extremes of temperature. Conditions within the soil can induce stress in the grass plant. These include...
Biotic and abiotic factors interact with each other. For example low oxygen levels in turf (abiotic) will affect the health of the turf roots directly when the soil becomes increasingly acidic making it harder for roots to extract nutrients from the soil, and indirectly by reducing the population of beneficial bacteria (biotic factors) which play a role in breaking down organic material to release nutrition.
Some of the key factors that benefit or hinder a species in its quest for dominance are described as Environmental Stresses. It is these stresses that drive the evolutionary process and as such can be used by the bowling greenkeeper to create conditions that are more suitable for the desired species than for others. There are a number of ways for greenkeepers to manipulate the environment artificially, or indeed to take advantage of naturally occurring stresses, in order to alter the balance of the bowling green ecosystem in favour of the desired grass species. An understanding of Competition and Adaptation in eco systems will help you a great deal in developing a sound greenkeeping program for fine, perennial grasses.
However we choose to interact with this bowling green ecosystem (with or against nature) we will be working within a dynamic, constantly changing environment and it is vital that we understand this before stepping off into a new program of maintenance. In other words we need to think of our green as an eco-system. Getting to grips with some universal ecological terms will be useful.
