Eroding slopes can be stabilized and sediment production can be decreased within a few years by the establishment of a plant cover on bare soil, provided there is a sufficient soil depth. Structural measures, such as contour trenching and terracing, are also designed to reduce surface runoff. Good land management techniques for flood control attempt to achieve the above results by various means. Forest cutting is either prohibited or limited to selection fellings on steep, erosive slopes. Fire control measures are aimed at maintaining a continuous forest cover.
Cultivation is carried out on the contour or on terraces.
Grasses and trees are grown on denuded slopes. Overgrazing is prevented on mountain pastures. The techniques are, in the main, well known. For the past 50 years or so, a great deal of experimental evidence on the effect of land-use practices on floods has accumulated. Direct evidence of forest manipulation effects is more recent and less plentiful.