Keeping your commercial property safe and appealing for customers takes dedication and effort, but it can be wasted if soil erosion occurs. Understanding what it is, how it happens, and how supplies from a garden center can prevent it will help you avoid the problems it brings for your business. Below is what you need to know about soil erosion.

What It Is & What Causes It

Soil erosion refers to the displacement of the top layer of soil. Soil can become displaced through wind, runoff water, and working the ground — such as for construction or landscaping. Several factors can make erosion more likely or severe, including heavy rainfall, lack of plant life, and compacted topsoil from heavy traffic or machinery.

Why It’s a Problem

Erosion will disrupt your landscaping by removing the top layer of soil. Since this layer is what’s rich in nutrients, erosion causes a deficit in the available compounds that plants need to survive, making the land infertile and barren.

Soil erosion will also affect the grade of the property, especially if you’re on a hill, which can lead to drainage issues and unsightly ridges in the land. Features like retaining walls, pathways, and underground foundations and utility lines may also be shifted or made vulnerable by erosion.

Beyond your property, erosion can impact the ecosystems around you. Runoff water and soil will contaminate local bodies of water like lakes, ponds, and rivers, making them inhabitable for the species that live in them.

Properties that have suffered severe erosion may also experience damaging floods, as the lower layers aren’t as absorbent or able to retain as much moisture when it rains, creating a hazardous situation in your community. It can also cause the buildings on your property to sustain water damage.

How You Can Keep It From Happening

Erosion can be prevented by using the land appropriately, ensuring it has an even cover of plant life, and controlling runoff water. Don’t overload the land or work it so much that it makes the soil loose or tightly compacted, which will encourage erosion. Plant trees, shrubs, and grasses through garden center services like hydroseeding, as their root systems will hold the soil in place. Proper drainage systems should be installed to divert runoff water to safe routes so it doesn’t drag wide areas of soil. Getting net installation to limit soil displacement will also help.

If you’re searching for commercial erosion solutions, Yano’s Nursery in Omaha, NE, offers competitive commercial erosion control at their garden center. They’ll install netting, plant trees and shrubs, and provide seeding or hydroseeding to protect your business and clientele. Since 1987, their professional landscapers have delivered detailed, personalized work. Read more about their commercial services online, and call (402) 895-1535 to speak to a garden center representative about a consultation.