Floods affect virtually every part of the United States let alone most of the world. Homes are destroyed and many lives are lost. Farmers also take a massive hit. Recovery for anyone burdened by a flood incurs not only mental anguish but also inflated expense. There are several techniques that farmers use to lessen the affect of dangerous floods. One of those is maintaining a fly strip.
No, this is not the kind of fly strip from nostalgic times where a glue strip hung from the ceiling about 3' making it a curious obstacle course to avoid. Yes, they are still available. Yet, this fly strip does act in pretty much the same way. It is a row of trees or a stretch of trees of varied width that runs along a stretch of river. This stretch helps in several ways in case of a flood.
When water levels surpass flood levels breaching the banks of the river it destroys precious land and weakens natural or designed river beds. Maintaining a fly strip helps restrict erosion of soil. This also aids in returning the water to its original course within the natural levees when the waters subside.
Another good use for fly strips is the prevention of debris littering any entire field. A swath of vegetation and/or trees are great for catching not only logs and brush from natural result of flooding but also man-made rubbish as well. Plastics, aerosol cans and fabrics wreak havoc on the ecosystems of farmland and fields. This can kill useful life species as well as suffocate the ground of germination during critical crop growth seasons.
Though we are eons away from preventing all kinds of damage of floods there are some things that we all can do to minimize the results.
No, this is not the kind of fly strip from nostalgic times where a glue strip hung from the ceiling about 3' making it a curious obstacle course to avoid. Yes, they are still available. Yet, this fly strip does act in pretty much the same way. It is a row of trees or a stretch of trees of varied width that runs along a stretch of river. This stretch helps in several ways in case of a flood.
When water levels surpass flood levels breaching the banks of the river it destroys precious land and weakens natural or designed river beds. Maintaining a fly strip helps restrict erosion of soil. This also aids in returning the water to its original course within the natural levees when the waters subside.
Another good use for fly strips is the prevention of debris littering any entire field. A swath of vegetation and/or trees are great for catching not only logs and brush from natural result of flooding but also man-made rubbish as well. Plastics, aerosol cans and fabrics wreak havoc on the ecosystems of farmland and fields. This can kill useful life species as well as suffocate the ground of germination during critical crop growth seasons.
Though we are eons away from preventing all kinds of damage of floods there are some things that we all can do to minimize the results.
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