how do floods affect agriculture

Floods affect the agricultural sector by causing over-saturation, infertility, and soil erosion, damaging the crop fields, especially the winter crops. In many natural systems, floods play an important role in maintaini. The most affected GSDPs are in the non-agriculture sectors, positively by the floods and negatively by droughts.

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How do floods affect farming and rural areas?

and food shortages occasioned from flooding of agricultural land are mitigated by Mangrove Forest Ecosystem Resources Extraction Table 6. Thus, conservation of the Mangrove Forest ecosystem in Akpabuyo and Cross River State is tied to the efficient management and mitigation of flood events in agricultural land.

What are the effects of flooding on plants?

Flooding in key agricultural production areas can lead to widespread damage to crops and fencing and loss of livestock. Crop losses through rain damage, waterlogged soils, and delays in harvesting are further intensified by transport problems due …

How does flood damage affect the economy?

 · Flooding and wet weather are so costly to agricultural land because they cause delays in and reduction of crop harvest. William Morfoot, specialists in agricultural land drainage, are well aware of the necessity of farming land having the optimum amount of saturation to successfully yield crops. If soil is too wet it can result in poor conditions for the crops to grow; …

What are the effects of floods on wildlife?

How does the flood affect the soil and the farm?

Flooding can significantly alter the level of plant available nutrients in the soil. For example: Soil lost due to erosion can take with it valuable plant-available nutrients and organic matter. Deposition of sediments from floods may increase the level of nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and potassium in the soil.

How does water affect agriculture?

AGRICULTURAL USES OF WATER In agriculture, water is used to grow fruits, vegetables, and raise livestock. Water is also used in agriculture for irrigation, the application of pesticides and fertilizers, and frost control.

How is agriculture affected by water pollution?

Effects. Agricultural water can become contaminated through a variety of ways and can potentially spread bacteria, viruses, and parasites to crops and animals.

What are the five problems of agriculture?

Problems Facing Agriculture in Nigeria and Possible SolutionsAccess to farmland.Inadequate financing.Poor transport system.Poor road network.Aging farmer population.Education.Farming System and techniques.Insecurity.More items…•

How did the floods affect agriculture?

The effects of floods on agriculture. The Midwest floods this spring and summer damaged crops, reducing farmer returns with record-high input costs and substantially higher crop prices.

How does flooding affect crops?

Finally, flooding moves soil that can further damage crops . Erosion washes the fertile top soil away, increasing input costs and reducing yields in future years. Soil deposition is another significant problem.

How does temperature affect crop damage?

Four factors increase oxygen depletion in flooded crops and hence imply more crop damage. First, temperature determines plant respiration rates (oxygen consumption), so warmer floodwaters imply faster depletion of dissolved oxygen and more crop damage. Spring flooding, therefore, can be less damaging to crops than summer flooding because …

How does flooding affect soil nitrogen?

Flooding also cause loss of soil nitrogen because of enhanced denitrification during anaerobic soil conditions which persist during flooding. Nitrogen is important for crop growth, and most farmers apply some additional nitrogen to their crops, especially corn. Because denitrification is an anaerobic microbial process, the same flood factors that determine oxygen depletion for crops—temperature, duration and water movement—also determine the soil oxygen level; the less soil oxygen, the more soil nitrogen lost via denitrification. Methods exist to estimate nitrogen losses, and if the soil is not too wet for machinery, nitrogen can be reapplied, though this increases costs and nitrogen prices have been rising rapidly.

What happens to crops after a flood?

Even after floodwaters recede, crops can continue to suffer damage and yield resulting losses. Flooding not only weakens plant defenses, but the soil and water conditions prevalent during flooding favor the development of many plant pathogens, so crops suffer increased disease problems after floods. Among these diseases are root rots and stalk rots, which are caused by several different microorganisms, “crazy top” and various foliar diseases. Some of these diseases can be controlled by application of fungicides, but this increases production costs.

Why are floods important?

Flooded crops can be developmentally delayed and unable to achieve canopy closure , critical for crops to out-compete weeds and achieve high yields. Farmers may need to use additional weed control (chemical or mechanical), which increases costs, and late-spring control is often less effective or causes greater crop damage. Also, floodwaters can bring in new weed seeds that increase control costs and reduce yields in future years.

Why is spring flooding less damaging than summer flooding?

Spring flooding, therefore, can be less damaging to crops than summer flooding because the water is cooler. Second, the duration of crop submersion is an important factor—the longer a crop is underwater, the longer it goes with low oxygen, and so more damage occurs.

What are the long term impacts of floods?

Floods have long-term impacts. Here are issues a farmer must address after waters recede: 1 Sediment and debris 2 Erosion repair 3 Soil repair and nutrient management 4 Crop repair

When farmers have advance notice of flooding, can they take some precautions?

With advance notice of a flood, farmers can take some precautions. This was the case preceding flooding in 2011. Farmers emptied grain bins, moved live stock and equipment to higher ground, moved or chained down propane tanks and removed power units from irrigation systems.

How much sediment is deposited on topsoil?

Moving water carries soil particles. When the water slows, sediment is deposited on the soil surface, ranging from a few inches to 15 feet of sediment covering topsoil – or more. Shallow deposits of 2 inches or less can be tilled into the topsoil with normal tillage equipment.

Why do farmers need to till deep enough to thoroughly mix this sediment with the topsoil?

Farmers need to till deep enough to thoroughly mix this sediment with the topsoil. This reduces differences in soil texture between the sediment and the original soil, which affects root development and water infiltration. One consequence of severe flooding is erosion. Farmers must fix their fields before sowing seed.

Why is grain in bins swollen?

Grain in many bins swelled when exposed to floodwater and split open, resulting in the loss of grain and the bin. When farmers have advance notice that river levels are high, and there may be flooding, they can take precautions. In 2019, there was no advance notice.

How deep should sediment be for tillage?

For sediment deposits over 2 inches deep, more aggressive tillage equipment should be used to insure adequate mixing of sediment and the native soil. If more than 8 inches of sediment covers cropland, the farmer must remove sediment to get it to a manageable depth for their tillage equipment.

What river is flooding in 2019?

In 2019, some stations along the Missouri River reported the river crested at 4 feet higher than 2011 levels. Credit: John Wilson. Compounding the problem, North and South Dakota and Minnesota received significant snowfall. This later melted in the spring, extending the flooding period.

What are the effects of floods on agriculture?

Flooding in key agricultural production areas can lead to widespread damage to crops and fencing and loss of livestock. Crop losses through rain damage, waterlogged soils, and delays in harvesting are further intensified by transport problems due to flooded roads and damaged infrastructure.

How does flooding affect the economy?

The environmental benefits of flooding can also help the economy through things such as increased fish production, recharge of groundwater resources, and maintenance of recreational environments (Bunn and Arthington, 2002).

What are the environmental resources in Kwale?

The environmental resources in Kwale most especially the land and soil resources are greatly threaten by flooding. The Kwale and its environ is covered by beautiful vegetation naturally checking the menace. This flooding menace has destroyed arable land for agricultural purposes which are the major socio-economic activities of the Kwale people. The government in his attempt to curb the situation has constructed a drainage system some meters away from the major road to redirect and channel all the water flowing to the erosion sites into the drainage system which is emptied into the river. Despite all this effort, the situation still remains the same.

What happens when a city floods?

Flooding of urban areas can result in significant damage to private property, including homes and businesses. Losses occur due to damage to both the structure and contents of buildings. Insurance of the structure and its contents against flooding can reduce the impacts of floods on individuals or companies .

What are the environmental problems that have confronted man since immemorial?

Flooding is one of the environmental problems that have confronted man since immemorial. Flooding is a widespread and age long phenomenon. In Kwale, flooding has created and causes untold hardship such as destruction of building and properties, interruption of socio-economic development of the area. Jon (2011), defined flooding as a condition, which exist when any overland flow over an urban or rural area, that is sufficient to cause property damage, health hazard, nuisance and the obstruction of the socio-economic activities in the area. He went further the types of flooding to include rivers flood , flash flood, splash flood and flood bondages.

What are the negative effects of flooding?

Other negative effects include loss of habitat, dispersal of weed species, the release of pollutants, lower fish production, loss of wetlands function, and loss of recreational areas (Kingsford, 2000). Flooding is one of the environmental problems that have confronted man since immemorial. Flooding is a widespread and age long phenomenon.

What are the long term impacts of disruption?

Damage to infrastructure also causes long-term impacts, such as disruptions to supplies of clean water, wastewater treatment, electricity, transport, communication, education and health care.

Why is flooding so costly?

Flooding and wet weather are so costly to agricultural land because they cause delays in and reduction of crop harvest. William Morfoot, specialists in agricultural land drainage, are well aware of the necessity of farming land having the optimum amount of saturation to successfully yield crops. If soil is too wet it can result in poor conditions for the crops to grow; when soil is well drained then the oxygen, nutrients and trace elements that the plant needs are available. If the soil is too damp, the field’s yield is potential severely reduced.

How much damage did the 2012 floods do to the UK?

In 2007 the summer floods are estimated to have caused £50 million worth of farming damage, impacting 42,000 ha. The full extent of the detrimental affects of the 2012 flooding have not been fully assessed however many farmers have lost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of pounds worth of crops.

Why is the Environment Agency reducing funding for watercourse maintenance?

The Environment Agency’s (EA) reduction in funding for watercourse maintenance means that there is a higher chance of flooding in rural areas. For instance, Yorkshire farmers have complained that their livelihoods are at risk because maintenance will stop on the River Swale and Ure due of lack of EA funding.

What happens if the soil is too wet?

If soil is too wet it can result in poor conditions for the crops to grow; when soil is well drained then the oxygen, nutrients and trace elements that the plant needs are available. If the soil is too damp, the field’s yield is potential severely reduced.

Is DEFRA failing to protect rural areas from floods?

DEFRA responded to this criticism by saying that, “We strongly disagree that DEFRA is failing to protect rural areas from the risk of flooding… more than 95% of the arable land in England is either outside areas at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea or is in areas benefiting from a greater than 1:75 standard of defence… While rural areas can be badly affected by flooding, analysis suggests that the overall exposure of the agricultural sector to flood risk is not disproportionate to other parts of the economy.”

Is flood management still a priority?

Officials are aware of the detrimental impact of flooding after a recent report by the Environmental Food and Rural Affair’s Committee. DEFRA has responded by insisting that flood management is still a high priority. Within the space of six years (between April 2015 and March 2021), it will implement a new strategy with over £2.3 billion invested in capital. This will theoretically enable DEFRA to lower the likelihood of flooding for another 300,000 homes. Furthermore the budget for the next couple years allows for a further 165,000 households to be protected in the near future.

Agriculture

Depending on the time of year and the growth stage of plants, flooding and severe weather can be devastating to Michigan’s family farms. The following information will help farmers deal with the impacts of flooding and severe weather in their fields.

USDA’s disaster program available for weather-related crop losses

Published on September 11, 2020
Producers with crop losses due to drought in 2018 or excessive rain in 2019 may qualify for USDA’s WHIP+ disaster program.

Significant flooding in Michigan has caused hardships for agriculture, MSU Extension responds

Published on June 5, 2020
MSU Extension has developed a resource a document to help support agricultural producers making flood-related decisions.

Southwest Michigan field crop update – May 28, 2020

Published on May 28, 2020
Warm air from the south pushes tropical rainfall and armyworm moths into Michigan.

How does flooding affect soybean germination?

Published on May 21, 2020
Important information about soybean fields planted prior to the recent heavy rain events.

MSU Extension Farm Stress Program partners to connect farmers with mental health services

Published on April 14, 2020
Farmers can now access counseling with licensed therapists via teletherapy.

Repairing your flood-damaged fields

Published on July 7, 2017
Management options for restoring productivity in flood-damaged areas.

Flooding & Oxygen Depletion

From a plant perspective, the immediate cause of damage and death is oxygen depletion, as water contains less oxygen than air. Four factors increase oxygen depletion in flooded crops and hence imply more crop damage. First, temperature determines plant respiration rates (oxygen consumption), so warmer floodwaters …

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How Flooding Impacts Disease & Nitrogen Loss

The Effects of Flooding on Competition & Erosion

• Flooded crops can be developmentally delayed and unable to achieve canopy closure, critical for crops to out-compete weeds and achieve high yields. Farmers may need to use additional weed control (chemical or mechanical), which increases costs, and late-spring control is often less effective or causes greater crop damage. Also, flooded farms can br…

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