Advancing natural turf to meet tomorrow’s challenges

Abstract

The majority of outdoor sports surfaces are natural turf and they remain the elite-level standard for a number of sports. A natural turf surface is susceptible to environmental and physical stress and has a limited resistance to wear. A number of technological advances have increased the quality and durability of natural turf surfaces including: sand rootzones; drainage; irrigation; agrochemicals; turfgrass breeding; turf reinforcement; supplementary lighting; ventilation; and advanced stadium architecture. These advances have resulted in an increase in resource consumption and where resources are restricted natural turf viability, performance, and safety is limited. This paper examines these challenges and others facing natural turf by reviewing the state of the art and signposting future research required to ensure performance, safety, and sustainability from natural turf surfaces. More development is required for lower-cost technologies for recreational-level facilities. Synthetic turf surfaces can be used to reduce the intensity of use of natural turf but sustainable natural turf construction and management must focus on resource consumption reduction and resilience to climate change for the continued provision of high performance, safe surfaces for sport. Furthermore, greater user-awareness of resource consumption and the consequences of reduced consumption are important for adoption in the future of more sustainable practices.