Plantations:

Why?

All native trees are good for rainwater harvesting. Since trees act as anchors to soil erosion with their deeply penetrated root system. Native trees or trees of the land have adopted the rooting system fit to the soil and topography of the land. As per our understanding of rainwater harvesting trees will act as:

1.  Stops water runoff – make water percolate into the soil and rejuvenate the water table.
2.  Acts as a wall to the eroding top layer of the soil, which contains most of the minerals,
3.  Purifies water with its tree litter i.e leaves, dropped barks etc.. Having said that, some tree species greatly work as water purifiers such as the Neem tree, banyan tree, the pipal tree. Along with these, I am attaching a list of trees that are native and best suitable for Rainwater harvesting. 

We created a dense forest block at the banks of the Kudikunta lake, we planted native species that are best suited for this particular lake ecosystem. We tried to create a dense wall-like structure along the fencing with hardwood trees and supporting trees to absorb sound and dust.

The Main Reason for the plantation activity here is to mitigate carbon emissions, to stop further encroachment of the lake, to better harvest the rainwater and naturally treat the lake water. We planted about 1100 native tree species around 21 varieties which are best suited for the ecosystem. We used tree species that can withstand water logging like Terminalia Arjuna Kadamba Raavi, Juvvi and other native varieties and which bear fruits with Nectar, Pollution and dust control, and shade-providing capacities. With a very diverse ecosystem this dense forest patch can be a nesting place and natural habitat for flora and fauna.