Research papers of the week – September 25, 2023

Karol Wolski; Łukasz Sobol; Henryk Bujak

Scientific Reports

Ministerial score = 140.0
Journal Impact Factor (2023) = 4.6 (Q2)

This article aimed to evaluate the visual and functional characteristics of intensively used football turf over 10 years, depending on the different areas of the game. The research was conducted on the football turf of the AZS Environmental Club in Wrocław (N: 51° 7′ 31′′ E:17° 4′ 14′′). High variability of the evaluated parameters was observed regarding seasonality, year of observation, and the area of play. It has been shown that the goal area and penalty box areas have the lowest functional value, which are vital areas of the game from the point of view of gaining an advantage in the game. Also, these places are more susceptible to creating sites without plants (requiring additional overseeding) due to the potential of hollowing and goalkeeper interventions ending with the body landing on the ground. The middle area was characterized by the highest overall aspect, color, and turf density values. In the vast majority of cases, there was a downward trend in the turfs’ functional value with the turf’s age, which is an essential finding in the context of the use of intensively used, athletic natural grass surfaces.

DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-42562-8

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