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Irrigation in arid urban landscapes can use significant amounts of water. Water conservation must be based on plant species and the ability to meet plant water requirements while minimizing overirrigation. However, actual evapotranspiration (ET) estimates for landscape trees and turfgrass in arid environments are poorly documented, especially direct comparisons to assess potential trade-offs. We conducted research to quantify ET of 10 common landscape tree species grown in southern Nevada and compared these values with the ET of both a warm season and cool season turfgrass species. The trees were grown in a plot with a high-density planting (256 trees/ha). A complete morphological assessment was made on each tree, and monitoring of plant water status was conducted monthly. ET was quantified with a hydrologic balance approach, irrigating based on the previous week’s ET to eliminate a drainage component. Transpiration was estimated with sap-flow sensors, and evaporation was estimated by difference. Although ET in liters revealed no statistical difference based on species, there were many significant differences in tree morphological parameters (P < 0.05), such as found with basal canopy area. When ET was converted to centimeters based on standardizing the ET on a basal canopy area basis, statistically higher ET values (P < 0.05) were generated for three of the trees (Lagerstroemia indica, Gleditsia tricanthos, and Fraxinus velutina ‘Modesto’). A clear separation of all tree ET values (lower ET) with turfgrass ET occurred (P < 0.001), with the exception of L. indica. Backward regression analysis revealed that all morphological and physiological parameters were eliminated with the exception of percent cover in predicting ET (cm, R ² = 0.88, P < 0.001). In addition, a highly curvilinear relationship existed between decreasing percent tree cover and ET on a basal canopy area basis (R ² = 0.96, P < 0.001), revealing that smaller trees located within the plot had significantly higher ET (centimeters). Tree-to-grass water use ratios demonstrated that all species except L. indica had ratios significantly below 1.0, indicating that on the basis of this study, landscapes dominated by mature trees irrigated at ET would have lower water use rates than similar areas planted to turfgrass, with the exception of the smaller L. indica. The results suggest that the smaller trees within the higher planting density plot were partially released from a negative feedback on transpiration that occurred in the larger trees based on reduced canopy atmospheric coupling.

Population growth and water limitations in the southwestern United States have led to golf courses in many communities to be encouraged or mandated to transition to reuse water for irrigation purposes. A monitoring program was conducted on nine golf courses in the Las Vegas valley, NV, for 4.5 years to assess the impact of reuse water on soil–turfgrass systems {bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.)}. The nine courses selected included three long-term reuse courses, three fresh water courses, and three courses expected to transition to reuse water during the monitoring period. Near-surface soil salinity varied from 1.5 to 40.0 dS·m⁻¹ during the study period with the highest peaks occurring during summer months and on long-term reuse irrigated fairways. Although soil salinity at several depths on fairways and greens increased after transition to reuse water, this did not lead to a systematic decline in leaf xylem water potential (Ψ_L) or color. When the data were grouped as fresh, transition, or reuse irrigated, soil salinity on reuse courses were statistically higher (P < 0.05) than fresh and transitional courses, yet plant response on reuse courses was not statistically different (P > 0.05) than that observed on fresh courses. The fact that summertime plant parameter values often declined under lower salinity levels and the electrical conductivity of the irrigation water was rejected as a significant variable in all backward regression analysis to describe plant response indicated that management differed significantly from course to course. We conclude that proper irrigation management, based on a multitiered feedback system (soil–plant–atmospheric monitoring), should be able to maintain favorable salt balances and plant response as long as irrigation volumes are not restricted to where deficit irrigation occurs.

Irrigators in arid and semiarid regions that use reuse water must maintain positive leaching fractions (LFs) to minimize salt buildup in root zones. However, with the continuous feed of NO₃-N in reuse water, imposing LFs can also lead to greater downward movement of NO₃-N. It is therefore essential that deep movement of NO₃-N be assessed relative to nitrogen loading under such conditions. We conducted a long-term monitoring program on nine golf course fairways in southern Nevada over a 1600-d period. The fairways were predominantly bermudagrass [Cynodon Dactylon (L.) Pers.; 35 of 36 site × years] overseeded with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.; 8 of 9 courses). Courses were irrigated with fresh water, reuse water (tertiary treated municipal sewage effluent), or transitioned to reuse water during the study. Solution extraction cups were inserted at depths of 15, 45, 75, and 105 cm on fairways and sampled and analyzed for NO₃-N on a monthly basis. Distribution patterns of NO₃-N varied from site to site. Concentrations exceeding 100 mg·L⁻¹ were observed at the 105-cm depth on all three long-term reuse courses. On the transitional courses, 72% of the variation in the yearly average NO₃-N concentrations at the105-cm depth could be accounted for based on knowing the amount of fertilizer nitrogen (N) applied, the amount of reuse N applied, and the LF (Y = –42.5 + 0.18 fertilizer N + 0.26 reuse N –62.0 LF). Highest N fertilizer applications occurred on transition courses with little or no reduction in N applications after courses had transitioned to reuse water (pretransition courses 394 + 247 kg·ha⁻¹ N/year versus posttransition courses 398 + 226 kg·ha⁻¹ N/year). The results of this study indicate a need for a more scientific approach to N management on reuse irrigated courses.

In the United States, urban population growth, improved living standards, limited development of new water supplies, and dwindling current water supplies are causing the demand for treated municipal water to exceed the supply. Although water used to irrigate the residential urban landscape will vary according to factors such as landscape type, management practices, and region, landscape irrigation can vary from 40% to 70% of household use of water. So, the efficient use of irrigation water in urban landscapes must be the primary focus of water conservation. In addition, plants in a typical residential landscape often are given more water than is required to maintain ecosystem services such as carbon regulation, climate control, and preservation of aesthetic appearance. This implies that improvements in the efficiency of landscape irrigation will yield significant water savings. Urban areas across the United States face different water supply and demand issues and a range of factors will affect how water is used in the urban landscape. The purpose of this review is to summarize how irrigation and water application technologies; landscape design and management strategies; the relationship among people, plants, and the urban landscape; the reuse of water resources; economic and noneconomic incentives; and policy and ordinances impact the efficient use of water in the urban landscape.