Know Your Roots
Our Roots
When European settlers arrived in the Kansas City area, the natural landscape looked significantly different than it does today. Sweeping prairies and oak savannas covered almost 90 percent of the land, while hardwood forests and wetlands made up the remaining 10 percent. Today, prairies make up only 2 percent of the region’s land.
The Kansas City area has grown from a small settlement on the banks of the Missouri river into a major center of commerce, industry and transportation. Urban development practices continue to alter the natural landscape that historically defined our region. The design of new roads and rooftops, and the introduction of non-native species of plants, grasses and flowers reduces nature’s ability to absorb rain water, increasing stormwater runoff that pollutes our streams, lakes and rivers.
What's the problem?
The dense clay soils in our region make it difficult for water to soak into the ground quickly. Native plants have deeper root systems that substantially increase the ability of soil to absorb and retain water. As natural vegetation is replaced with popular turf grasses, less stormwater is absorbed into the ground, leading to more stormwater runoff and water pollution.
What can you do?
Landscaping with native plants is a great way to reduce the amount of runoff that leaves your property. Native plants are trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, ferns and other plants that originate and evolve in a region over time. These plants adapt to local climate and ecological conditions. Native plants have deep roots which can penetrate the native soil to depths of up to 16 feet! During the dry summer months native root systems reach deep into the ground to find water, which is why native plants are more drought resistant than non-natives.
Native plants are low maintenance
Native plants require very little maintenance because they have evolved and adapted natural defenses to local conditions such as drought, nutrient-poor soil, winter conditions, disease and insects which can be problematic to non-native species. This means that natives save residents time and money because they require little or no lawn chemicals and less irrigation than non-native plants.