Tuesday 15 April 2014

Want to prevent flooding? Fix your soil (report)

In the light of recent extreme weather and severe flooding across large parts of the UK, there has been much debate about how to prevent similar problems in the future, how to manage rivers and waterways and discussion on the future of farming in areas such as the Somerset levels, which are prone to flooding.
One way of addressing multiple issues at the same time is to ensure that the type of farming that does take place works to decrease rather than exacerbate flooding. In particular, the health of the soil has a great effect on how much water it can hold, how much water runs off, and how much the soil itself is eroded – silting up rivers and streams. In most rural areas the key determinant of the health of the soil is the way that land is farmed.

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