Tall grass to help protect Three Gorges Dam

Workers water tall grass planted along the water-fluctuation belt to protect the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei province on April 23, 2012. About 34,000 square meters will be planted with tall grass. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tall grass known as vetiver are being planted to protect the Three Gorges Dam at its water-fluctuation belt in Hubei province, Xinhua.net reported.

Water-fluctuation belt is the land between high and low water levels along the bank of a reservoir. The Three Gorges Dam has a 4-million-square-kilometer water-fluctuation belt, which is, in turn, soaked in water and exposed to sunlight every year, causing severe losses in water and soil. Plants with long roots such as the tall grass can take root more than 5 meters deep in the soil and survive after five months.

The project manager Wang Yunyao said 34,000 square meters of tall grass "will be planted at the dam's water-fluctuation belt. If the experiment goes well, the whole belt hopefully will be planted with tall grass, which will result in a beautiful green belt along the reservoir."