Natural Sequence Farming

I can visualise chains of ponds and how that leads to positive water pressure into the floodplain. What I cannot visualise is achieving the same on the steeper country. Can anyone help?

How are you visualising this in a chain of ponds??

I'm seeing a raised creek bed, with the water in it charging laterally out into the lower surrounding floodplain, that water is effectively "springing" "up" out of the surface of the floodplain.

Well done Dust.

In an old, intact floodplain system, the streams were in the highest part of the system, creating a head of pressure, which pushed water down and laterally, recharging the system (-ve pressure). This in turn, is pushing the water in the floodplain up (+ve pressure) or as you have put it, ""springing" "up" out of the surface of the floodplain". Springs, soaks, swampy meadows are all under the influence of positive (or discharge pressure).
This has tremendous outcomes for plant productivity, specially in native plants and grasses.

In steeper country, where natural or built contours occur, the same recharge/discharge sequence occurs. Remembering, that a contour is a line of equal levels. It is NOT a drain or swale. So imagine you're on a slope, with a newly constructed contour with a bank in front and a channel behind. Water that enters the contour, performs exactly the same as the creek/stream. Water recharges, going down and moving laterally, just like the stream did. Below the contour bank, the water becomes under positive pressure ., it is under positive pressure from the head of water above it. So, now it is discharging, just like in the floodplain. If you can imagine the rice terraces say in Asia coming down the mountain???? Then that's it>

Contours change the landscape hydrology.....

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your reply Duane. I think what helps me visualise all this, is you only have positive water pressure working if the landscape is already full of water? That is, whatever moving out of the contours/raised streams has no choice but to ride (through the ground) above the pre-filled clay/floodplain layer into the topsoil layer.

Dust,

you were closer at the start to the answer.

This exercise MAY help you.

Get a piece of paper, tear it down the middle. Put it back together on a table. Take a pencil. Draw a meandering stream/river where the banks are on either side of the tear. Thus the stream encapsulates the tear. Now open out the two pieces of paper and join them at the other end of the page.

You now shoud have a contour on a slope + same as the contour of the river in a chain-of-ponds with ALL the same properties you mentioned.


Try it and let me know.

Thank you - that worked.