Cultivating connections: Framing turfgrass as a thriving social–ecological–technological system

Abstract

Turfgrass systems are some of the most ubiquitous forms of perennial agricultural systems. People interact with them on a daily basis, and they provide a wide variety of social and environmental benefits. Over the past two decades, turfgrass systems have been increasingly seen as coupled human-natural systems, which has prompted new avenues of research across multiple areas from breeding to management. While this human-natural systems framework has been helpful, the rapid development and integration of technology (e.g., smart sensors, robotic mowers) and the push for nature-based solutions and green infrastructure have changed the landscape significantly for turfgrass systems. With this in mind, the current work advocates for the adoption of a new framework, social–ecological–technological systems (SETS), to better understand where turfgrass systems research is situated now and, more importantly, what directions it could go in the future.