Permaculture and Soil Management

Flood Control and Nutrient Harvesting

Permaculture and the brilliant Geoff Lawton, has the solution to wasteful and damaging river and other types of flooding. Bamboo!! [but also see Vetiver Grass too at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetiver_System].

See the video at the link below.

The real benefit is that the careful placing of differing types of bamboo into differing strata of a flood zone can provide a valuable harvesting of the nutrients washed out from the flood upstream. Not only will the roots of bamboo stabilise, it will trap sediments washed down. So there is a double function to start.

This has to be a key attribute to turn 'poor' quality landscapes into a fertile and productive resource for those working the land.

http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/61148-power-of-bamboo

Profile and suggestions for flood control

River debris caught by the bamboo

These types of planting will become the backbone of an holistic approach to the management of land. The need to stabilize and to add nutrients are paramount to productive farming. Just as the opposites are key factors in the despoiling of the local environment.