water meadow
See also: watermeadow and water-meadow
English edit
Noun edit
water meadow (plural water meadows)
- (technical) An area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation or flooding in order to increase agricultural productivity.
- A low-lying area of grassland that by a river, which is subject to seasonal flooding.
- Synonym: flood meadow
- 1967, J. A. Baker, The Peregrine, page 41:
- He was too vivid a mark, as he dazzled slowly across the green water-meadows.
Usage notes edit
In technical usage, a distinction is made between water-meadows and flood meadows or floodplain meadows. Flood meadows are naturally subject to seasonal flooding from a river,[1] whereas water meadows are artificially created and maintained, with flooding controlled[2] on a seasonal or even daily basis.
In lay usage however "water-meadow" may be used more loosely to mean any level grassland beside a river.
Translations edit
grassland which is artificially flooded
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low-lying area of grassland subject to seasonal flooding
References edit
- ^ Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014) “Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century”, in Nordic Journal of Botany, volume 32, number 6, pages 858–70
- ^ Emma Rothero, Sophie Lake, David Gowing, editors (2016), “Floodplain Meadows Partnership”, in Floodplain Meadows – Beauty and Utility: A Technical Handbook[1], archived from the original on 2022-12-24