artificial turf

University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 11/14/23

Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. Researcher Michael Barnes wrote Real concerns with fake grass in the Fall 2023 edition of the MPSFMA News from the Minnesota Park and Sports Field Management Association. 


University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 6/22/23

Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. There are several recent articles that feature our team!


New research publication from our team - 3/21/22

Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Michael Barnes and Eric Watkins has been published in the journal HortScience. This article discusses a case study that examines perceptions of natural turfgrass compared to artificial turf as they relate to their potential uses and perceptions of sustainability.


Pondering the future for artificial turf in 2023

By Michael Barnes


Join the Turfgrass Science team at Northern Green 2023

Members of our team will be giving talks at Northern Green, a trade show and conference dedicated to green industry professionals. Consider attending this worthwhile event!

Northern Green
January 10-12, 2023
Minneapolis Convention Center

Register for this event 


Turfgrass Science team at the 2022 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting

The Turfgrass Science team from the University of Minnesota was well-represented at this year’s ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting held on November 6-9, 2022 in Baltimore, MD. 

Below is a listing of the abstracts from the meeting:


We asked real people about fake grass

By Michael Barnes


New research publication from our team - 1/5/22

Learn more about our research! A new article from our group has been published in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. This research found that park users have a preference for natural turfgrass lawns and are more hesitant to use artificial turfgrass lawns, which has implications for decision-makers choosing between these two options. 

Barnes, M.R. and E. Watkins. 2022. Differences in likelihood of use between artificial and natural turfgrass lawns. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Vol 37, March 2022, 100480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100480


Putting the horse before the cart: The adoption of artificial turfgrass in cities

By Michael Barnes

Globally many cities have implemented ‘re-greening’ programs to meet sustainability goals and deliver enhancements to the quality of life for their residents. However, turfgrass has most often been thought of as a problematic part of urban landscapes, being not ‘green’ enough to be part of re-greening programs that have largely focused exclusively on trees. To date, such approaches have mostly ignored advancements in turf management as well as low-input varieties of turfgrasses for both warm and cool climates.