text: Bank stabilization is a common objective for stream-restoration projects, although bank erosion is generally viewed as favorable for the sustainability and diversity of aquatic and riparian habitats. This technique may be employed where a stream reach is highly confined, or where infrastructure is threatened.
  Bank stabilization is achieved through the installation of riprap, gabions or through the use of revegetation and/or bioengineering methods, which relies on the use of live plants to build bank stabilizing structures. As new plants sprout from the live branches, the roots anchor the soil and prevent erosion. This makes bioengineering structures more natural and more adaptable to evolving conditions than "hard" engineering structures. Bioengineering structures include fascines, brush mattresses, brush layer, and vegetated geogrids.