How to Stop Erosion on Steep Hills With Rocks & Roots

Hills erode when heavy or prolonged rains wash the soil downhill. The keys to stopping erosion are to make soil harder to liquefy and also put barriers in gravity's way. Plants protect the soil. Their roots create a framework to which soil can cling and also suck the moisture out of shallow soil. Leaves on the other ends of these plants effectively slow down the velocity of rain. And rocks slow downhill flows. Little, flat terraces form behind rocks and those terraces break the momentum of flowing mud.

Rocks
Shovel
Deep rooted shrubs
Shallow rooted plants
Native grasses and wildflowers

Instructions

- 1
  String lines of rocks horizontally across the slopes of hills. As time permits, pile rocks on top of each other to make rock walls. You do not need a permit to build these kinds of walls.
- 2
  Flatten plots behind these walls with a shovel to form terraces. These terraces will keep erosion carried in runoff on the uphill side of the rock walls.
- 3
  Plant deep rooted shrubs horizontally across the slope. Mesquite, cottonwood, holly and pampas grass all have deep roots. The deep roots will tie the surface of your hill with the bed rock underneath.
- 4
  Plant shallow rooted plants such as blueberry and azalea bushes horizontally across the slope to reinforce the first 2 feet of soil on the hill.
- 5
  Sow the hillside with native grasses and wildflowers. These plants will protect the surface of the slope from exposure to wind and rain and, because they are native species, can take care of themselves.

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