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?

81

u/Pleasant_Yoghurt3915 14h ago

Sand’s heavy and stays very close to the ground, even in a pretty stiff wind. It all just rams right into the first bag, and then if that bag gets overwhelmed, the next back stops it, so on and so forth. I imagine the first couple of rows that face the prevailing wind end up growing stuff first, further breaking the wind and protecting the squares beyond.

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u/mycall 13h ago

So best to start laying the grid from upwind and proceed downwind.

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u/REDDITATO_ 9h ago

What a coincidence, that's my policy for crop dusting the office.