You already know that roots help to anchor a plant to the ground. Did you know that roots also help to keep the ground in place? Roots help hold soils to the earth so they aren’t washed away by winds or water.

During the rainy season in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, plants off all kinds put energy into building fine roots because this strategy allows them to intercept more water and nutrients while water is infiltrating the soil. During the dry season, coarse roots, which are larger, help to hold down the sandy soil and keep it from blowing away. In turn, stabilization of this sandy soil promotes the growth of plants, which serve as food for grazing animals in this area.

VIDEO: Journey to the center of the earth? Not quite. See how scientist Thoralf Meyer and Professor Okin take a slice of the Kalahari to sample for fine roots in Bokspits, southern Kalahari using a hand auger.

VIDEO: Professor D’Odorico shows us how field work is really done. Tweezers and a handbroom become scientific tools to separate fine root biomass from soils in Tshane, Botswana