Plants that reduce erosion on hilly land

Listen to this radio story (MP3 download) or read below.

Radio interview source: Mike Maddox, Extension horticulture agent, University of Wisconsin

We need to shore-up the dam at our pond. Not because it's losing its integrity, but soil erosion is becoming a problem. Trees aren't doing the trick. Our steep ditches are thick with grasses that hold everything in place. Perhaps I'll have to do some transplanting between the ditch and the dam!

Grass isn't the only option. There are many types of ground covers. Some flower, others don't. Some die back in the fall, but many stay green all year.

Mike Maddox is an extension horticulture agent at the University of Wisconsin and says there's one very important characteristic you must have with plants intended for erosion control.

"You want something that's going to have lots of roots to it," Maddox says. "A good fibrous root system is what's going to secure your soil base. It will keep those soil particles together, keep them from being washed away and lost in a storm event. Those roots are going to be the matting that holds it all together."