Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bioengineering a solution to riverbank erosion

From The Courier-Journal in Louisville: The people who run Chickasaw Park in or near Louisville are taking a different approach to combat the erosion problem that's common along the Ohio River. They're using willow trees.

They're placing 50-foot strips of willow in trenches on the bank now, while they're dormant. In spring, the willows should sprout and use their root systems to hold the bank in place.

It will be interesting to see if this bioengineering approach works. The people who thought this up said they wanted to avoid using large rocks -- riprap -- because they have no habitat value.

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