River plants counter both flooding and drought to protect biodiversity

Team Udayavani, Jul 19, 2020, 4:07 PM IST

Researchers claim that River plants can prevent both flooding and drought in order to help protect biodiversity.

The  research was conducted by NIOZ scientist Loreta Cornacchia and published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B

It is said that vegetation can actually buffer water levels, by adjusting vegetation cover. During high flows, the plants or vegetation is  pushed to the side keeping an open lane in the middle and during the low flow, plants gradually clog up the stream, and prevent the water from draining quickly.

Researchers also claim that the current strategy to remove these plants threaten naturally balanced water level and biodiversity.