Reproducing part of an article here, and potential courses below it, that seeks to answer a question very connected to our experiences of food producing in Herefordshire. Full article at Didi Pershouse's website
"I write often about the soil sponge. To me, it is the foundational infrastructure that makes life on land possible. However, there are many other factors that influence how much, and how quickly, water soaks into the ground—versus running off and creating both flooding and drought, and creating many other problems. If we want to take a living systems view of a place, we need to consider more than just a single factor.
Why it matters whether rain soaks in, or runs off
Consider this initial list of just a few of the things that are affected by a place’s ability to soak up water—whether rain, melting snow, floodwaters, or irrigation water—and hold it in the ground:
- Flood resilience
- Drought resilience
- Fire resilience
- Groundwater recharge and clean drinkable water, for all of life
- Flow of rivers and streams
- Soil erosion and mudslides
- Food sovereignty and security, for all of life
- Temperature:
- Immediate local cooling via transpiration
- Long-term climate cooling via photosynthesis turning CO2 into life and stable carbon
- Weather
- Pressure zones that attract (or repel) atmospheric rivers and rain clouds
- Small water cycling for formation of dew, mists, clouds, and rain
- Biodiversity
- Conflicts and wars over water and fertile land
Important, right? So let’s see what we can actually do, versus wasting our time complaining about what we can’t easily affect. Think about where you are, as you read through each of the following factors.
Full article:
https://didipershouse.substack.com/p/whats-needed-for-land-to-soak-up
Which includes these courses: https://lali.teachable.com/