Coconut Coir Logs & Erosion

Do you ever imagine coir made off coconut can prevent erosion? Yes! You heard it right, coconut coir can prevent erosion. Coconut Coir Logs are a biodegradable erosion control material. These are used in hills, banks, shorelines, and other erosion-prone areas. Coir logs are also used to prevent beach erosion and these materials also can hold sand in place during beach restoration. Coconut Coir Logs are tightly wrapped dense cylinders of natural coconut coir fiber, held together with strong, Eco-friendly natural coir twine webbing, also made from coconut fiber. Coconut coir is usually easy to place, use, and as well as to install, these coir fiber logs can create a natural control area which helps establish growth and control erosion. Coconut coir logs have been effectively used for erosion control restoration projects, stabilization areas, and construction job sites, Construction sites use coir logs for retaining and filtration. Coir log features strong biodegradable erosion control materials of outer coir twine netting. This coir roll has a  lifespan of 2-5 years.

Fig: Coconut Coir Logs

Erosion is a worldwide problem. Soil can be lost with both floodings rushing down hillsides and drought via dust storms destroy bare lands. Coir erosion control mats and coir are organic biodegradable Geo-textiles which provide an effective system for erosion control.

Fig: Grand Canyon

Some of the earth's most Presentable Prominence is the result of erosion, the Grand Canyon as an example. when forces like wind and water want to redistribute soil from a place it is needed to control erosion. Coconut Coir is Eco-friendly, biodegradable, and all-natural, is a good bet to place against wind, rain, and floods. 

The soil plots should be treated during coir installation so that the top surface was even. Coco coir should be carefully laid to the top surface, gently stretched and pressed to come in close contact with the soil. Iron or wood rods/bars should be used to secure the contact between the two coir. The plots should then placed on the stand configured to the desired slopes. Coconut coir logs can be combined with plantings to strengthen erosion-prone banks and embankments of rivers and streams. Due to its high-water resistance qualities, coir logs & mats provide long-term stability to rivers and stream banks while they also encourage the vegetation & plants to thrive on the damaged shorelines. Coconut coir has the highest tensile strength among the fibers & it can also retain much of its tensile strength when it is wet. Because of its high tensile and wet strength, the coco coir can be used in very high flow velocity conditions. Coconut coir logs also have high durability and slow bio-degradation. These properties are attributed to coir logs high lignin content. Plantings along with these products that can keep erosion from happening. Some synthetic products exist that are designed to keep erosion at bay & many of them cause additional environmental problems. They can become entangled in mowers and sometimes trap wildlife & then others have other unexpected results. Coir logs are a natural Eco-friendly product made off coconut which enhances soil health also protects seeds & allows them to grow & become a natural force to hold soil in place. Coconut coir logs & mats established themselves against a natural response to flooding and wind has driven erosion.(CANDELARIA, 2008).

Now it is time to discuss some merits of coconut coir logs & this section will enlighten us about the question “why coconut coir logs should be used to prevent erosion?” Firstly coir logs can be installed to natural contours where the rate of  erosion is often high. Besides that plants, roots can easily grow into it. Most importantly coir logs are safe for the environment as it leaves no plastic residue as it decomposes easily. Perhaps there are a lot of significance in coir logs. So it will be easy to understand if it can be present as bullets.

•        Animal friendly.
•        Holds seeds, plants securely as they root in
•       It has very strong holding power.
•          Extremely water permeable.
•          Provides stability over time
•          Easy to Install & High in Tensile Strength which Protects Steep Surfaces from Heavy Flows.
•          It allows the full plant, Soil Establishment & also land stabilization.
•          Natural & also Biodegradable.
•          Functions as a soil amendment.

Water transfers it’s progressive forces to the nearest shoreline or  the quadrant of a body of water whenever wave movements appear. Particles within water beds & shorelines may often be carried away elsewhere, resulting in erosion. To solve this problem Pilings, retaining walls & sheet pilings were solutions in the past. However such construction was neither in harmony with nature nor long-lived. Coir logs made from coconut are now known, durable & environment-friendly solutions for erosion (Bestmann, 1997). Nowadays coir logs are vastly used in the lakes to protect the shoreline. Coir logs are completely organic & don’t need any kind of chemical treatment during their entire lifespan. Eventually, it can be said that coir logs can be the most cost-efficient & “Go-Green” solution for erosion worldwide.

References

Bestmann, L. (1997). ECOLOGICAL COR ROLL ELEMENT AND SHORELINE PROTECTED THEREBY. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS, 1-.

CANDELARIA, M. D. (2008). LABORATORY SCALE EXPERIMENTS TO MEASURE SEDIMENT YIELD IN COCO-FIBER REINFORCED SLOPES. Quezon City: Institute of Civil Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman.