Reconnecting floodplains to rivers will help reduce the risk of future flooding, say U.S. scientists. Writing in Science, the researchers say that risk of flooding is likely to increase in the future as a result of climate change and shifts in land use.

Floodwalls, levees and other channel hardening exacerbate flooding. The authors’ note: “Control infrastructure prevents high flows from entering floodplains, thus diminishing both natural flood storage capacity and the processes that sustain healthy riverside forests and wetlands.”

“As a result floodplains are among the planet’s most threatened ecosystems.” Read More at the BBC or Learn About Natural Channel Stability