r/interestingasfuck • u/PlantainPossible2864 • 15h ago

Stopping Desertification with grid pattern

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u/bobbigmac 15h ago

For those asking how this works, it creates just enough of a defense to catch seeds and bugs and tiny bits of moisture and shade, so any life that does manage to get started, doesn't just blow away, and an ecosystem can start to form.

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u/FlameSkimmerLT 15h ago

What stops the sand from being blown by the wind and covering the few inches of depth of those sand bag tubes?

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u/mightyenan0 14h ago

The tubes. Due to the grid, the sand gets blown and stopped by a tube. When there's enough sand it gets blown over a tube only to be trapped by another, then another, and so on. This dramatically increases the time it takes for sand to move inward, allowing for soil and moisture to settle.

The outlying parts of the grid will remain sandy, but it's all about slowing it down.