Riprap

Heavy stones used to protect soil from the action of fast-moving water. True restoration tries to eliminate or minimize the use of riprap, using plants with strong root systems to anchor soil instead (e.g. willows). The use of riprap can lead to many detrimental effects, including increasing water volumes and flow (which leads to flooding and bank erosion), and constricting stream channels (which exacerbates flooding)

(n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2017, from http://www.coastalrcd.org/zone9/factsheets/glossary.html