Question

Floods can be prevented by

• A. Cutting the forests
• B. Afforestation
• C. Tilling the land
• D. Removing the top soil

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Afforestation

Afforestation involves the planting of trees in a drainage basin to increase interception and storage while reducing surface runoff. This reduces a rivers discharge and so makes it less likely to flood. Afforestation also prevents mass wasting which reduces the amount of soil entering the river and keeps the rivers capacity high. When combined with floodplain zoning, afforestation can be very effective at reducing the risk of flooding. Planting trees help prevent erosion because the roots bind the soil.