Soil bioengineering application for flood hazard minimization in the foothills of Siwaliks, Nepal

This study focused on soil bioengineering for stream bank stabilization. Both vegetative check dams and wire net check dams along with vegetation were used during May-June 2009. After three growing seasons, the banks of the ephemeral stream were almost fully stabilized. The effects of river edge cuttings were highly reduced, and flow channels of the river were also narrowed. Vegetation based solutions are found to be more effective than the mechanical methods of stream bank stabilization. Vegetation application on flood-damaged bare ground was also found to be very successful. Furthermore, some plants species showed almost equal growth performances on both flood-affected and unaffected bare ground.