How Do Plant Roofs Affect Rocks

Roots follow nooks and crannies along in the subsurface and as they get older expand.

How do plant roofs affect rocks.

If the area with the trees is plain select some colorful rocks. How tree roots affect soil. How do plants and animals cause weathering and erosion. Plants can cause both mechanical and chemical weathering.

The trees in our yard improve our quality of life. Organic weathering also called bioweathering or biological weathering is the general name for biological processes of weathering that break down rocks. Plant and roots cause weathering when the roots spread inside the rock causing it to push apart. Mechanical weathering occurs when roots grow and cause the rock to break just like the roots that crack the sidewalk.

These roots are lifting breaking apart the rock in the image above prying apart the rocks in the image to the. As the plants and the roots grow thick and go deep in search of water for survival the rocks begin to break. The roots of plants and trees penetrate into the soil in search of nutrients and water. They beautify the landscape give us shade from the sun produce oxygen and invite birds to our property.

It is common to see some roots growing within the face of a rock. The study also finds that some tree roots probe hundreds of feet deep searching for water and many trees send roots through cracks in rocks. Plants and plant roots also tend to pull rock apart a form of mechanical weathering. Certain plants are able to get their roots into cracks in rocks.

To highlight colorful plants choose simple rocks in gray black or tan based on what goes well with the house and fence. Root expansion pulls and pries apart rock. Moreover the depth of plant roots which varies. Creating contrast improves the appearance of the yard.

Buy rocks as mulch accent boulders and some decorative rocks to add a rock garden feature if desired. Well such plant activity contributes to biological weathering. As the plant grows the thickening roots may force the crack to widen. That and the expanding ice in winter may crack the rock.

The growth loosens and breaks ok pieces of the rock or mountain. Even during cultivation the rocks are exposed to water and air which are also agents of weathering.