Gardeners warned against using popular item in their gardens

It could cause big problems for your garden

Gardening experts are issuing a warning to green thumbs across the UK, with people urged not to install a popular feature. Artificial grass has seen a surge in popularity recently, as a low-maintenance alternative to real grass, eliminating the need for weeding, mowing, and re-seeding.

However, experts have highlighted two significant drawbacks to replacing natural grass with an artificial version. The University of Plymouth warns that synthetic grass can harm the garden by damaging the soil and hindering wildlife - such as insects - from breeding and pollinating.

Studies show that insect populations have plummeted by up to 80 percent in the UK over the past two decades, and a total collapse could devastate the food chain. Insects rely on real grass and the wildflowers, daisies, buttercups, and even dandelions within it, for mating and pollination - none of which is possible with artificial grass.

Flooding is another concern as artificial grass can dry out and damage the soil underneath. It also fails to absorb rainwater due to its plastic composition. This lack of absorption can lead to flash flooding during heavy rainfall as the water has nowhere to drain, reports the Express.

Mick Hanley, from the University of Plymouth and an expert in Plant-Animal Interactions, highlighted the environmental downsides to artificial lawns, stating: "Inevitably, if you are putting what is ostensibly a plastic film across the soil, you are reducing the amount of rainfall entering the soil, so it's going to dry out. Artificial lawns also negatively affect soil health as they limit the supply of both air and water to the soil beneath them, which impacts the tiny organisms that live in the soil as a result."

He added that there is an importance of urban gardens for biodiversity, explaining that "urban gardens are increasingly recognised for their potential to maintain or even enhance biodiversity". He further noted the role of diverse flowering plants in supporting pollinators which have been declining due to wider agricultural practices and habitat loss: "In particular the presence of large densities and varieties of flowering plants supports a number of pollinating insects whose range and abundance has declined as a consequence of agricultural intensification and habitat loss."

Hanley then addressed the impact on carbon capture, saying: "Soil is a natural carbon store, especially if plants are growing in it, slowly taking carbon from the atmosphere and putting it back into the plants and the ground. Removing a large area of planting that is actively locking carbon into the ground releases that locked carbon back into the atmosphere."

On the consequences of using artificial grass, he warned: "Artificial grass is more likely to cause surface run off after significant rainfall which may contribute to flooding" and in addition to the environmental issues of manufacturing and shipping large rolls of plastic and the carbon that it creates, artificial grass can release microplastics into the soil, they warn.

Why is artificial grass bad for the environment?

Artificial grass does not provide any sustenance for living creatures. It restricts access to the soil beneath for burrowing insects and to the ground above for soil dwellers such as worms. It also limits access to natural materials like leaf litter and grass clippings, which are essential for feeding soil organisms like worms and microscopic animals, thereby keeping the soil healthy. Artificial grass can reach significantly higher temperatures than natural grass under the same weather conditions.

Plastic lawns can overheat in hot weather, rendering them unusable. Artificial grass can contribute to global warming by absorbing significantly more radiation than living grass and, to a lesser extent, by displacing living plants that could remove carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.

What are the benefits of a natural lawn?

On the other hand, natural lawns have numerous benefits. Grass, like all living plants, consumes carbon dioxide and releases oxygen with the lawn acting as an air filter, trapping and absorbing smoke, dust, and pollutants that would otherwise be breathed in by us. A natural lawn creates an ecological barrier between your house and the street.

Lawns are a home for beetles, other insects and worms, and they attract birds such as starlings that feed on the invertebrates hidden below. Lawns can also provide seed for birds.

Those of annual meadow grass, plantain, buttercup and dandelion are particular favourites. Lawns improve water quality and prevent soil erosion and absorbs sound and reduces noise pollution. Having access to a natural lawn can help lower stress levels and enhance wellbeing too.