Should we be planting willow trees on flood plains?
This wondeful piece of nature absorbs a tremoundess amount of water and was used to this effect by our ancestors. So why are we removing them from our gardens and parks?
Perhaps the floods aren't down to global warming but down to our own stupidness in removing the tools that nature has provided us?
What do you think?
Answer:
That sounds like a very sensible idea! We should be using the natural resources that nature provides. It even has multiple benefits, the trees will absorb the water, they will also absorb Co2 and last of all they look a lot nicer than a concrete jungle!
Regardless of what causes the weather conditions we are currently facing, we should try to find the best solutions that benefit everything on the planet.
yes trees should be planted not houses put on them come on where is the common sense in building on flood plains bring on the trees i say
that would help some what
Although willows or for that matter any trees take up a lot of water, they can't absorb the amounts of water involved in a serious flood. I agree that houses shouldn't be built on flood plains, but people insist on doing it anyway. But the kind of flooding that will be caused by global warming is totally out of the realm of controlling by trees. As the ice caps melt, the sea level will rise and large amounts of coastline will be permanently flooded for miles inland. Some places that exist now will no longer be there.
Planting trees is one of the things we can do to help take up some of the CO2 that is causing global warming, but I don't think we could plant enough trees now to stop it. We have to find a way to reduce the carbon emissions created by modern society, or modern society will cease to exist.
Yes I think it would help but I think better still if we did away with our obsession with paved areas and chuckies and that we all planted at least one deciduous tree and see a return to the lawned garden would that not help also?
Which willow are you talking about? The basket willow (Osier)?
I would say "yes", definitely. The basket willow loves to have it's root system in the flood plain, and is commonly found near streams. Plus you have a harvest-able source of branches for basket-weaving.
Sometimes we forget to tap into the wisdom of our predecessors. Whereas today, we have computers to do our thinking for us, there is nothing like the "computer" of time and tribulation through the ages to provide us with both simple and elegant solutions.
Permaculture Answer:
Great idea. Plant it in succession, then we can use it and new willow will grow continuously. A great low impact crop plant and cash crop. Financial incentives all round. If we added mixed native woodland around the edges, some fruit trees and other self caring plants even better. Use willow for cleaning sewage up. Use willow instead of pulp trees then plant mixed native woodlands.
As to the cause of Global Warming. I am no scientist but I do agree that mankind is stupid destroying natural systems to replace with inferior man made products/solutions . This is clearly demonstrated throughout our history. Nature has tried and tested solutions that we are too arrogant to believe in so why would we use her tools?
great idea but thing is - trees arent very good at housing people in our so called housing crisis - let them build houses and watch them get flooded...
The answers post by the user, for information only, FunQA.com does not guarantee the right.
More Questions and Answers: