A decision support method for designing vegetation layers with minimised irrigation need.

Selecting a vegetation layer design goes along with determining its future irrigation need. Therefore, it is essential to take a design decision that is minimising the cumulated construction and irrigation costs in a given depreciation period. This contribution showcases a decision support approach using long term weathering time series and soil water balances with example data for turf soccer fields in six German regions. The approach relies on minimising both material and irrigation costs by modifying soil layer design parameters; here the layer thickness and therefore its water retention capacity. E.g. suggested layer thicknesses between 200 and 250 mm for Stuttgart lead over 10–40 year depreciation periods to estimated substrate and water cost savings between 90 and 194% in comparison to a standard substrate layer thickness of 80 mm. For practical applications, the presented theoretical approach needs to be adapted with the usable soil water storage capacity and relationships describing evapotranspiration for given substrate-turfgrass combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]