India, Oct. 19 -- There's a plant that fixes one big problem but ends up causing another. That's the story of weeping lovegrass. This African grass was introduced into the United States in 1935 at Stillwater, Oklahoma, according to the USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System. People were looking for a plant that could hold the soil in place, and the grass did that. Decades later, scientists started asking a new question about it: what else was it doing to the land around it?

The 1930s were a difficult time on the American Plains. Rainfall was scarce, and strong winds blew away valuable topsoil. People were looking for plants that could hold the ground together. Weeping lovegrass looked like a smart choice. Its thin leaves dro...