Restoring Dry Desert Rivers Into Green Oasis Flowing With Water

[Astronuc]

How Woman Turns Sandy Desert Into Fertile Farmland - Water-Saving-Method​

. . . how to restore degraded and eroded desert landscapes into thriving ecosystems at large scale and still farm sustainably in the desert! Drought, contaminated water, degraded soil, unhealthy bacteria and toxic heavy metals are all problems modern agriculture is facing, affecting the health and livelihoods of people and the planet and it all comes down to the intricate ecosystem beneath our feet. The good news is, it doesn't have to be this way, there's actually a solution that benefits the environment and has the ability to produce healthy, nutritious food in the desert once again! One woman is using an exciting technique that has the ability to keep soil damp in the desert, and its a crucial solution that has the ability to solve our modern agricultural problems, meet Esmeralda who is in charge of the regenerative farm at a huge restoration project, where 17,000 hectares of land have been transformed in the Sonoran desert at the regenerative ranch called Rancho Cacachillas.

My wife was watching the following video the other night. I sounded interesting and timely, especially for the western US and parts of Mexico, e.g., the Sonoran Desert.

How This Woman Has Restored Dry Desert Rivers Into Green Oasis Flowing With Water​

I learned the term gabion, which I have seen before, but I did not know the term.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabion

 

[russ_watters]

Can you give a synopsis of this "exciting technique"?

 

[Baluncore]

Can you give a synopsis of this "exciting technique"?

First overgraze the farming area between the hills and the bay, until vegetation cover is lost. Soil temperatures rise, all organic in the soil is lost to the atmosphere as CO2. Water retention in organic soil then ends, and the soil is washed away by the storms. The exposed rock reflects sunlight back up to the clouds, they heat and dissolve, causing a hot desert with bright sunlight. Rancho Cacachillas farm land is then worthless.

Economic revival and local employment start on the coastline with tourism at El Sargento. People move to the coastal strip. 24°4'45.00"N, 109°59'36.00"W
Bike and walking tracks develop along the old road network in the overgrazed farmland. Those trails reach the foothills, where the gully erosion is a major problem.

Someone realises that natural obstruction of the stream, results in green vegetation. There is now sufficient population and funding to obstruct the flood flow by building rock walls in some streams. Those walls silt up the gully and germinate vegetation. With shade trees, temperatures in the gullies fall, so tourists go there to get out of the sun, to experience the miracle of an oasis in the desert. Water does not run off, or evaporate, so it trickles from the underground reservoir over time, rather than as a gully erosion flash flood.

The community realises the importance of erosion prevention and soil management. They formalise the obstruction of stream flow during floods, by using gabions. The river bed behind the gabion fills with sand and vegetation trash. That leaks water over a longer period.

Volunteers, education and ecotourism, take root in the community, and spread up the trails into the hills. Someone makes a video of the greenest valleys, so tourism and employment will continue to improve. You have now become part of the regional economic revival, and the green marketing campaign.

 

[berkeman]

Someone realises that natural obstruction of the stream, results in green vegetation.

There's a stream in this desert? Ack, I guess I need to watch the video after all.

 

[Astronuc]

Can you give a synopsis of this "exciting technique"?

I wasn't thinking of 'exciting', but rather interesting.

Apparently, in the location where the 2nd video is taken, they built gabions in strategic locations. Despite being a desert (Sonoran desert), it does rain as evidenced by arroyos. The problem is that short term heavy rainfall simply collects and runs downstream, thus leaving the riparian areas dry once the water is gone. By placing gabions in the arroyos, they can slow the water flow, giving it time to soak (percolate) into the ground. Then planting native trees or shrubs, which take root and provide shade, this cools the ground, which reduces evaporation. Over time, the dry areas become wetter, which enourages more plant coverage.

In addition, the evaporation of moisture combined with the cooler area encourages more precipitation, which encourages more water. It seems to work well on the small scale, e.g., the 17000 hectares to which it was applied.

There are other initiatives around the world, e.g., in the Sahel, and in parts of South America.

 

[BillTre]

Beavers have done this kind of stuff in the right conditions.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-07-25/climate-change-beavers-wetland-restoration

 

[Flyboy]

I wasn't thinking of 'exciting', but rather interesting.

Apparently, in the location where the 2nd video is taken, they built gabions in strategic locations. Despite being a desert (Sonoran desert), it does rain as evidenced by arroyos. The problem is that short term heavy rainfall simply collects and runs downstream, thus leaving the riparian areas dry once the water is gone. By placing gabions in the arroyos, they can slow the water flow, giving it time to soak (percolate) into the ground. Then planting native trees or shrubs, which take root and provide shade, this cools the ground, which reduces evaporation. Over time, the dry areas become wetter, which enourages more plant coverage.

In addition, the evaporation of moisture combined with the cooler area encourages more precipitation, which encourages more water. It seems to work well on the small scale, e.g., the 17000 hectares to which it was applied.

There are other initiatives around the world, e.g., in the Sahel, and in parts of South America.

In the Sahel, it’s the Great Green Wall, and it seems to be working incredibly well.