Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was added to surface cores of the Urrbrae fine sandy loam (1) to study the effect of plant growth on PVA adsorption when the soil was in various cultural phases, (2) to measure the long-term effects of PVA on soil stabilization when the soil was incubated for 2.5 years, and (3) to calculate the terminal energy of rain required to disperse the surface of treated cores.Both wheat and pasture roots reduced the effective stabilization of surface soils by PVA. After 2.5 years' incubation, the PVA or components of its breakdown in soils were still successfully stabilizing the surface of the cores. Terminal energies required to disperse a PVA-treated surface were low (0.14 joules cm−2) and this energy could be obtained by 6 hr of 1.5 cm hr−1of natural rain.