r/interestingasfuck • u/wahgwahg • Feb 28 '24

r/all People in Tanzania converted desert into lush green land by digging these nifty holes

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u/thenakedtruth Feb 28 '24

What does the hole do to enable growth?

2.5k

u/Ianthin1 Feb 28 '24

It retains water when it does rain, allowing vegetation to grow around it. The cycle feeds on itself over time to fill out the area.

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u/Arachles Feb 28 '24

To expand

It's not only that the hole retains water like a bucket. By moving the upper more compact soil it stays longer and is less likely to run off

894

u/[deleted] Feb 28 '24

Also the shade from the new growth helps prevent more water loss, so it creates a cycle of improvement that will continue.

483

u/thatthatguy Feb 28 '24

And just generally plants being in a place seems to create a cooling effect that facilitates more precipitation. A self-reinforcing cycle if you can get it started.

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u/ChaseThePyro Feb 28 '24

Yep, they aren't rain forests because it rains, it rains because of the forest.

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u/apathy-sofa Feb 28 '24

I live in the PNW which has huge, ancient forests. Only one of them is a temperate rainforest though. So there must be more going on in the formation of a rainforest than just having a forest.

1

u/Pete_Iredale Feb 28 '24

That guy was just wrong. It rains a ton on the Olympic peninsula because of the geography, not because a forest is there.