New grass could help tackle flooding, say scientists
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/25/new-grass-prevent-flooding-deeper-roots
A new grass that cuts the water running off from fields by half could help stem the rising floods that global warming is bringing to the UK. The roots of the grass, a natural hybrid of rye and fescue grasses, produce more pores in the soil than traditional types, meaning more water can be stored.
"The enormous savings that will be possible by mitigating flooding through planting [these] grasses dwarf any possible cost of producing them," said Professor Douglas Kell, chief executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which funded the research, published in the journal Scientific Reports. The new grass has been tested for two years in the field and a related hybrid will be available to farmers this year.
Extreme rainfall has already risen in the UK and 2012 was England's wettest year on record. But despite the government's own scientists highlighting flooding as climate change's greatest threat to the UK, the funding for flood defences remains significantly below 2010 levels, with hundreds of schemes unbuilt as a result.
As well as inundated households, agriculture suffered from the sodden weather in 2012 with more than £600m of food lost, the worst apple crop in 15 years and a 75% drop in honey production.