Michael Barnes
Lawns as living systems: Connecting people, nature, and technology
By Michael Barnes
Lawns are everywhere in our yards, parks, and sports fields but they’re more than just green spaces. They are part of a complex system that connects people, nature, and technology. Managing them well requires balancing environmental concerns, evolving technology, and social expectations.
New research publication from our team - 1/9/25
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Michael Barnes, Joshua Friell, Bryan Runck, Douglas Soldat, Eric Watkins, and Chengyan Yue has been published in Crop Science. The authors propose the adoption of a new framework – social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) – for turfgrass to improve research collaboration.
Turfgrass Science team at the 2024 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 8/21/24
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. See the August 2024 Edition of MGCSA's Hole Notes for What do we recreational athletes want? Weed-free sports turf! by Michael Barnes!
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 6/10/24
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. Researcher Michael Barnes was interviewed by NPR in about the debate over traditional lawns. Listen to the interview or read the article - The arguments for swapping lawns for more natural landscaping.
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 5/22/24
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. Researcher Michael Barnes and Turfgrass Extension Educator Jon Trappe were interviewed by NPR in Kansas City about the value of lawns. Listen to the interview or read the article - Grass lawns are a landscape staple, but an environmental reckoning may change that.
New research publication from our team - 4/29/24
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Michael Barnes and Eric Watkins has been published in Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management. The authors found that sports field users preferred weed-free fields and more effective herbicide use for weed control, despite acknowledging potential harms.
Barnes, M. R., & Watkins, E. (2024). Sports field users in Minnesota support herbicide use for weed-free recreation. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 10(1), e20276.
New research publication from our team - 4/1/24
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Kristen Jakstis and Michael Barnes has been published in Global Environmental Psychology. The authors reviewed the literature and found that winter is a neglected season, especially in the area of human-nature-interactions. Winter-nature interactions are just as important to understand as other seasons' interactions.