River Plants Mitigate Flooding

Common practice is to remove river plants to prevent the slowing of the water flow and to prevent flooding during high rainfall events, but according to one research scientist the vegetation can act as a natural buffer.

She believes that the plant removal not only threatens the a naturally balanced water level but threatens a stream’s biodiversity.  Other researchers have noticed that plant cover led to more constant water level and flow regime.

At high flows, the vegetation is pushed to the side or even dislodged, keeping an open lane in the middle for high-flow traffic. During periods of low flows, aquatic plants gradually clog up the stream, and thereby prevent the water from draining quickly.

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