Thanks to its dense, tangled, floating stems that root at the nodes, Echinochloa pyramidalis can have a protective effect against wave action on the walls of earth dams and flood-induced erosion of river banks (FAO, 2010). It has been tested successfully in sludge dewatering beds. Increasing concentrations of faecal sludge had a positive effect on the sturdiness and productivity of Echinochloa pyramidalis: it yielded 150 DM t/ha/year of above-ground biomass, and 30 DM t/ha/year of below-ground biomass (Kengne et al., 2008). Echinochloa pyramidalis was able to remove 50-80% of nutrients in distillery wastewater (Fonkou et al., 2010).
In some humid situations, Echinochloa pyramidalis is considered one of the most troublesome weeds, e.g. in the aquatic system of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Bishundial et al., 1997) or in the freshwater wetlands of the Mexican tropics (Lopez Rosas et al., 2006). This alien species reduces biodiversity by replacing native species. To eliminate this species completely, it is necessary to recreate the natural topography and hydrology of the wetland and to select control mechanisms that disrupt the growth characteristics (e.g. rapid propagation from rhizomes and horizontal expansion via tillers) that make this grass more competitive than native species (Lopez Rosas et al., 2006).