Good flooding? Scientists use rice cultivation to preserve soil in Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area
- Written by Jehangir Bhadha, Associate Professor of Soil, Water and Nutrient Management, University of Florida
Growing rice can slow soil loss and the lowering of surface elevation.Frank Bienewald/Getty ImagesEach summer, nearly 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) of rice is cultivated in the Florida Everglades Agricultural Area, a roughly 1,100-square-mile (2,800-square-kilometer) area south of Lake Okeechobee.
Farming here requires a delicate touch. The area...

