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Plants used for erosion control
jaymier
4
Hi! I'm a college student and would appreciated if anyone could help me find plants used for erosion control in Pennsylvania. Specifically, I need plants that were introduced to the US and are not native. If you're interested, my research is on plant species introduced to Pennsylvania to combat erosion and how they have integrated into the ecoystem. If anyone could provide some insight into this, it would be greatly appreciated!
admin
Posted on 15 September 2024
another plant used for erosion especially in mining areas - Lespedeza cuniata (Chinese bush clover)
admin
Posted on 11 September 2024
Take a look at this article too: https://www.theautopian.com/how-a-weed-from-a-pennsylvania-farm-became-a-miracle-cure-for-roadside-erosion/
admin
Posted on 11 September 2024
The following nonnative plants were introduced in PA for erosion control
Multiflora rose - Rosa multiflora
Crown vetch - Securigera varia
Amur honeysuckle - Lonicera mackii
Morrow's honeysuckle - Lonicera morrowii
Tartarian honeysuckle - Lonicera tatarica
Autumn olive - Elaeagnus umbellata
Japanese honeysuckle - Lonicera japonica
Reed canary grass - Phalaris arundinacaea
more info on these plants here: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/WildPlants/InvasivePlants/InvasivePlantFactSheets/Pages/default.aspx
PaulNale
Posted on 09 September 2024
Hi Jay, I am remembering this from 30 years ago so please check its accuracy. Long ago, in either Natural History Magazine or Smithsonian magazine (The two most likely sources as I read them cover to cover for 35+ years.) there was an article about Crown Vetch, Coronilla varia, and how a Penn State professor took an interest in the plant, propogated it, and formed one, and then two companies that grew the plants and harvested the seeds and then bid on the E&S Control part of highway construction projects mainly in Pennsylvania. (In other states, I don't see it on the embankments along their interstates the way I do in Pennsylvania.) Anyway, my Peterson guide says it's not native. Long ago, 1980, erosion, sediment control, and stormwater management were my environmental specialty, but I was more into the structural devices contractors could use rather than the plants. Good luck with your project / research.