"Sand is a terrible growing medium for plants," I wrote, in a recent article for GCM China. 

But I went on to explain why sand is used for high-traffic turf areas – because of its resistance to compaction and because of a high infiltration rate. However, those characteristics of sand are lost if organic matter, a natural result of grass growth, is not managed. 

The article, available in Chinese or English, gives the details, along with three steps one can take to ensure that the "desirable characteristics of the root zone will be maintained indefinitely."