Artificial lawns are an increasingly popular alternative to their living counterparts, but their environmental impacts are undocumented. The hydrological impacts of artificial (synthetic polymer) grass were investigated in comparison to living grass in a series of controlled rainfall experiments, representing daily short rainfall events of different volumes (750 mL, 1000 mL, 1250 mL). Two varieties of artificial grass with varying pile height (short vs long) were compared with a living grass control. Infiltration was measured as drainage (total, initial and delayed) and retention. Significant differences in runoff were observed across all treatments, demonstrating that both types of artificial grass displayed greater volumes and proportion of runoff than living grass, and that long artificial grass had significantly greater runoff than short artificial grass. Living grass was also significantly better at retaining water and delaying drainage compared to both artificial grasses, while retention performance varied between short and long artificial grass. Other aspects of drainage were more complicated, with short grass installations generally draining fastest. Plastic thatch and grass fibres were also shed from the artificial grass installations during the experiments and were carried in the runoff. Further experimentation is required to explore the wider implications of such hydrological responses, but the potential impacts on runoff in particular should be considered when replacing living lawns with their artificial counterparts.

人造草坪是一种越来越受欢迎的替代生活草坪的替代品，但它们对环境的影响没有记录。在一系列受控降雨实验中，与活草相比，研究了人造（合成聚合物）草的水文影响，代表不同体积（750 毫升、1000 毫升、1250 毫升）的每日短时降雨事件。将两种不同堆高（短与长）的人造草与活草对照进行了比较。渗透被测量为排水（总的、初始的和延迟的）和保留。在所有处理中观察到径流的显着差异，表明两种类型的人造草比活草显示出更大的径流量和比例，长的人造草比短的人造草具有更大的径流。与两种人造草相比，活草在保水和延迟排水方面也明显更好，而短人造草和长人造草的保持性能不同。排水的其他方面更为复杂，短草装置通常排水最快。在实验期间，塑料茅草和草纤维也从人造草装置中脱落，并被径流带走。需要进一步的实验来探索此类水文响应的更广泛影响，但在用人工草坪替换活草坪时，尤其应考虑对径流的潜在影响。与两种人造草相比，活草在保水和延迟排水方面也明显更好，而短人造草和长人造草的保持性能不同。排水的其他方面更为复杂，短草装置通常排水最快。在实验期间，塑料茅草和草纤维也从人造草装置中脱落，并被径流带走。需要进一步的实验来探索此类水文响应的更广泛影响，但在用人工草坪替换活草坪时，尤其应考虑对径流的潜在影响。与两种人造草相比，活草在保水和延迟排水方面也明显更好，而短人造草和长人造草的保持性能不同。排水的其他方面更为复杂，短草装置通常排水最快。在实验期间，塑料茅草和草纤维也从人造草装置中脱落，并被径流带走。需要进一步的实验来探索此类水文响应的更广泛影响，但在用人工草坪替换活草坪时，尤其应考虑对径流的潜在影响。短草装置通常排水最快。在实验期间，塑料茅草和草纤维也从人造草装置中脱落，并被径流带走。需要进一步的实验来探索此类水文响应的更广泛影响，但在用人工草坪替换活草坪时，尤其应考虑对径流的潜在影响。短草装置通常排水最快。在实验期间，塑料茅草和草纤维也从人造草装置中脱落，并被径流带走。需要进一步的实验来探索此类水文响应的更广泛影响，但在用人工草坪替代活草坪时，尤其应考虑对径流的潜在影响。