Converting (maize) fields on slopes into grassland or woodland
Grassland and woodland are better than arable land at capturing and slowing down rainwater. This is because the soil on bare arable land becomes compacted after heavy rain. The soil then absorbs very little water. Furthermore, arable land on a slope is susceptible to erosion (mudslides).
Maize fields are particularly vulnerable because they are only covered with vegetation late in the summer. If the bare soil becomes compacted, intense sunshine will ‘bake’ the top layer hard. Rainwater infiltration is then virtually impossible. The steeper the slope, the greater the problem of water and mud flows. But even the gently sloping edges of plateaus are vulnerable and require adaptation, as they are the first to catch the water flowing down from the large plateaus.
Natural solutions
- Developing natural grasslands
- Developing natural forests
- Food forest
- Making space for beaver activity
- Making room for natural floodplains
- Making room for meandering
- Raising the stream bed
- Lowering banks
- Removing drainage systems
- Planting scrub hedges and copses
- Standard orchard
- Wide infiltration strip
- Grafts
- Swales
- Keylines
- Converting (maize) fields on slopes into grassland or woodland
- Wadi
- Intercepting runoff on (sunken) roads