Monday, February 10, 2014

Harvesting desert floodwater by savannization

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Meitar Forest is just a short walk north of my home in  Meitar.
See the parallel ridges in this late-afternoon photo?
Keren Kayemet (KKL)/Jewish National Fund (JNF), which is creating this and other forests in the northern Negev, explains it:

The tree planting method is called savannization, and it is based on harvesting desert floodwater.  
Terraces, furrows and ridges halt the rainwater and prevent it from running off. 
This method causes most of the water to be absorbed and stored in the earth, deep enough not to evaporate and close enough to the surface to be utilized by the vegetation.

Kakal (KKL) has some nice short videos about savannization on YouTube.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)
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12 comments:

  1. Fascinating post about savannization ~ always good to learn about a new technique and great shot for OWT ~ thanks

    carol and artmusedog
    www.acreativeharbor.com

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  2. Yes! Plant trees!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral

    =^..^=

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  3. It looks like a peaceful, quiet setting, Dina.

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  4. I wonder if California has hired any experts like this.

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  5. I'll have to show this to Art. He'd love it!

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  6. I have never heard of that process before. It seems like a great idea. I do know that our desert was once a fertile, green place with trees that are now fossilized.

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  7. I do not like this... I hope the will do something!

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  8. And it changes the albedo (reflectivity) of the area so that more of the heat is reflected away. Nice method!

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  9. I haven't been by for a while, and I should not neglect visiting for so long.

    Terracing is an efficient way to plant in dry and in wet climates. It retains water as you say, and prevents erosion when there is too much rain--an event I imaging you don't often see where you are.

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  10. What an interesting word - savannization, and an interesting concept as well. It's got me wondering what the definition of "savannah" actually is. I guess I shall go look that up right now!

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  11. VP and Sara and all,
    Yes, this strange word savannization is new to me too. I'm not sure but maybe Israel invented the word. It is our way of trying to stop desertification, from the (too) little that I have read so far.
    A good professional explanation of savannization is here:

    http://books.google.co.il/books?id=yWgQv1NhdZkC&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&dq=savannization+def&source=bl&ots=3BDGf-fjn9&sig=OmZ_4tkFGK_XyYb92E0d1mGYCPQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bcD7UqKfD6ud7QbK7IHgCQ&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=savannization%20def&f=false

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  12. Savanna or savannah--
    A flat, grass-covered area of tropical or subtropical regions, nearly treeless in some places but generally having a mix of widely spaced trees and bushes. Savannas have distinct wet and dry seasons, with the mix of vegetation dependent primarily on the relative length of the two seasons.

    The American Heritage® Science Dictionary

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