Groundcover or ground cover is any

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

from

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

and

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

. In an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the

shrub layer Stratification in the field of ecology refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to w ...

known as the herbaceous layer. The most widespread ground covers are

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns ...

of various types. In

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

, groundcover is a difficult subject to address because it is known by several different names and is classified in several different ways. The term groundcover could also be referring to “the herbaceous layer,” “regenerative layer", “ground flora” or even "step over." In

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

, ground cover refers to anything that lies on top of the soil and protects it from erosion and inhibits weeds. It can be anything from a low layer of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

es to a plastic material. The term ''ground cover'' can also specifically refer to

landscaping fabric Landscape fabric is a textile material used to control weeds by inhibiting their exposure to sunlight. The fabric is normally placed around desirable plants, covering areas where other growth is unwanted. The fabric itself can be made from synth ...

which is like a breathable tarp that allows water and gas exchange. In

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, frui ...

jargon, however, the term ''groundcover'' refers to plants that are used in place of weeds and improves appearance by concealing bare earth.

Contributions to the environment

The herbaceous layer is often overlooked in most ecological analyses because it is so common and contributes the smallest amount of the environment's overall

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...

. However, groundcover is crucial to the survival of many environments. The groundcover layer of a forest can contribute up to 90% of the ecosystem's plant diversity. Additionally, the herbaceous layer ratio of biomass to contribution to plant productivity is disproportionate in many ecosystems. The herbaceous layer can constitute up to 4% of the overall

net primary productivity In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

(NPP) of an ecosystem, four times its average biomass.

Reproduction

Groundcover typically reproduces one of five ways: * Lateral growth * Side growth: Branches on the side of the plant extend outwards upon contact with the soil. * Base growth: New plants produced from the base of the origin plant. * Under/Above Ground growth: Produced from

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...

s and

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s * Roots Like most foliage, groundcover reacts to both natural and

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human i ...

disturbances. These responses can be classified as legacy or active responses. Legacy responses occur during long-term changes to an environment, such as the conversion of a forest to agricultural land and back into forest. Active responses occur with sudden disturbances to the environment, such as tornadoes and forest fires. Groundcover has also been known to influence the placement and growth of tree seedlings. All tree seedlings must first fall from their origin trees and then permeate the layer created by groundcover in order to reach the soil and germinate. The groundcover filters out a large amount seeds, but lets a smaller portion of seeds pass through and grow. This filtration provides ample amount of space between the seeds for future growth. In some areas, the groundcover can become so dense that no seeds can permeate the surface, and the forest is instead converted to shrubbery. Groundcover also inhibits the amount of light which reaches the floor of an ecosystem. An experiment conducted with the '' rhododendron maximum'' canopy in the southern

Appalachian region Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

concluded that 4 to 8% of total sunlight makes it to the herbaceous layer, whereas only about 1 to 2% reaches the ground.

Variation

Two common variations of groundcover are residency and transient species. Residency species typically reach a maximum of 1.5 meters in height, and are therefore permanently classified as herbaceous. Transient species are capable of growing past 1.5 meters, and are therefore only temporarily considered herbaceous. These height differences make ideal environments for a variety of animals, such as the reed warbler, the harvest mouse and the

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonl ...

. Groundcover can also be classified in terms of its foliage. Groundcover that keeps its foliage for the entire year is known as

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, whereas groundcover that loses its foliage in the winter months is known as

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

In gardening

Five general types of plants are commonly used as groundcovers in

: *

Vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s, which are

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...

s with slender, spreading stems *

Herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

plants, or non-woody plants *

Shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s of low-growing, spreading species *

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

of larger, coarser species * Ornamental grasses, especially low-growing varieties Of these types, some of the most common groundcovers include: *

Alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as ...

(''Medicago sativa'') *

Clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

(''Trifolium'') *

Dichondra ''Dichondra'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. They are prostrate, perennial, herbaceous plants, with creeping stems which take root readily at the leaf nodes. The flowers are white, greenish or ye ...

* Bacopa (''Bacopa'') *

Carpobrotus ''Carpobrotus'', commonly known as pigface, ice plant, sour fig, Hottentot fig, and clawberry is a genus of ground-creeping plants with succulent leaves and large daisy-like flowers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ' "fruit" and ' "edible" ...

Delairea ''Delairea'' is a plant genus within the family Asteraceae that is native to South Africa. Classified within the tribe Senecioneae, it contains only one species, ''Delairea odorata'', which was previously included in the genus ''Senecio'' as '' ...

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

(''Hedera'') * Gazania (''Gazania rigens'') * Ground-elder (''Aegopodium podagraria'') * Ice plant * Japanese honeysuckle (''Lonicera japonica'') *

Juniperus horizontalis ''Juniperus horizontalis'', the creeping juniper or creeping cedar,Bailey, L.H.; Bailey, E.Z.; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. ''Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada''. Macm ...

* Creeping lantana * Lilyturf (''

Liriope muscari ''Liriope muscari'' is a species of flowering plant from East Asia. Common names in English include big blue lilyturf, lilyturf, border grass, and monkey grass. This small herbaceous perennial has grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple ...

'' and ''

Liriope spicata ''Liriope spicata'' is a species of low, herbaceous flowering plant from East Asia. Common names include creeping lilyturf, creeping liriope, lilyturf, and monkey grass. This perennial has grass-like evergreen foliage and is commonly used in la ...

'') *

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

(''Mentha'') * Mesembryanthemum cordifolium * Nasturtium (''Tropaeolum majus'') *

Pachysandra ''Pachysandra'' is a genus of five species of evergreen perennials or subshrubs, belonging to the boxwood family Buxaceae. The species are native to eastern Asia and southeast North America, some reaching a height of , with only weakly woody st ...

* Pearlwort (''Sagina subulata'') * Periwinkle (''Vinca'') * Shasta daisy (''Leucanthemum'') *

Soleirolia ''Soleirolia soleirolii'' (, syn. ''Helxine soleirolii'') is a plant in the nettle family. It has a number of common names, including baby's tears, angel's tears, peace in the home, bits and pieces, bread and cheese, Corsican creeper, Corsican ...

(''Soleirolia soleirolii'') * Spider plant (''Chlorophytum comosum'')

In roof gardens

Groundcover is a popular solution for difficult gardening issues because it is low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing and fast growing, minimizing the spread of weeds. For this reason, ground cover is also a common choice for roof gardens. Roofs take on the brunt of incoming weather, meaning any plants on a roof must be resistant to long-term exposure to sun, overwatering from rain and harsh winds. Groundcover plants are able to sustain themselves in such conditions while also providing lush vegetation to what would otherwise be unused space.

References