Native Plants Help Manage Stormwater and Protect Water Quality

After a heavy rain, water rushes across rooftops, parking lots and sidewalks, often carrying soil and other debris with it. But what happens next depends on the landscape.

At Lincoln University of Missouri's (LU) Native and Specialty Crops Program, educators are demonstrating how native plants can be used in rain gardens and other conservation practices to help manage stormwater where it falls.

"The key is to slow the movement of water through the landscape," said Sue Bartelette, educator and landscape designer with LU's Native and Specialty Crops Program. "The slower that water moves, the cleaner it will be when it reaches our aquifers."

When stormwater moves too quickly, Bartelette said, it becomes runoff - water that flows over the surface instead of soaking into the ground. As runoff moves across the land, it can wash away soil and carry pollutants into nearby streams and rivers.

Native plants help by slowing water and creating pathways for it to move into the soil. As water passes through roots and soil, sediment can settle out and some pollutants can be trapped or broken down.

"Native plants have deep root systems that allow water to percolate through the soil," Bartelette said. "They also have a lot of foliage, so they're capturing rainfall and holding it in the soil."

At LU's Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory, the lesson is built into a place people pass every day.

Near the entrance of Allen Hall, home to Cooperative Extension, the outdoor lab shows how stormwater can be managed where pavement meets plants. Rainwater from the parking lot and sidewalk is directed through curb cuts into a working rain garden planted with native species.

Permeable pavement at LU's Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory allows stormwater to move downward, while a rain garden at the bottom of the walkway provides another place for runoff to collect and soak into the soil.

The rain garden gives stormwater another place to pause. Rather than holding water like a pond, the garden temporarily collects runoff from paved surfaces and allows it to soak into the soil instead of rushing toward the street.

After a heavy rain, the garden may briefly fill with water, but Bartelette said that is part of its purpose. Within a day or two, the water drains into the ground, while the native plants help hold soil in place and support continued infiltration.

Nearby, permeable pavement provides another way to manage stormwater. Small openings in the material allow water to move downward instead of running across the surface.

A short walk from the rain garden, the campus pavement gives way to a planted slope near Foster Hall, home to Cooperative Research. During heavy rain, native roots help stabilize the slope by holding soil in place and reducing the amount of sediment washing toward drains and waterways.

Native plantings on a slope near Foster Hall at LU help stabilize the parking lot edge, hold soil in place and reduce erosion during heavy rain.

"We started planting natives, and now it is not only looking beautiful but also protecting the soil from erosion," said Nadia Navarrete-Tindall, who leads the Native and Specialty Crops Program.

These campus sites show how water can be managed in everyday spaces and offer ideas people can apply in their own yards, gardens, farms and community spaces.

The program's outreach also extends beyond campus examples. Navarrete-Tindall and Bartelette help landowners and small farmers understand how practices such as prairie strips and riparian plantings can support water sustainability on farms and larger areas.

In fields, prairie strips use native grasses and wildflowers to give runoff a place to move through vegetation before it reaches nearby waterways. Along creeks and streams, riparian plantings of native trees, shrubs and grasses help stabilize streambanks and reduce the amount of soil washing into the water.

Sue Bartelette, educator and landscape designer with LU's Native and Specialty Crops Program, stands on the outer edge of the rain garden area at the program's on-campus farm, known as the Finca.

Together, these examples show how native plants can be used in many parts of the landscape, from campus walkways to farm fields and streambanks. Their roots, foliage and growth habits help landscapes hold water longer, protect soil and support cleaner waterways.

For Bartelette, the message is simple: Using plants wisely can help slow runoff, protect soil and preserve the water people depend on.

"There's no new water, and only a small amount is readily accessible as clean water," said Bartelette. "That's why we have to protect the water we have."

The Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory serves as a year-round demonstration area where visitors can see native plants and conservation practices at work. The lab began in 2009 with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and earned Grow Native! Garden of Excellence recognition in 2021. Volunteers and Native and Specialty Crops Program staff help maintain the site. For more information, visit the Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory page on Grow Native!'s website.