Read the passage below carefully:
In the steep terraced hillsides of Konso in southern Ethiopia, community-managed stone walls have long prevented severe soil erosion during seasonal rainstorms. Recently, however, increasingly erratic climate patterns have delivered rainstorms of unprecedented intensity, frequently overwhelming the traditional dry-stone drainage channels. Rather than abandoning their ancestral slopes, local agricultural collectives initiated a project to plant deep-rooting vetiver grass along the base of the stone structures. The deep, dense root networks of vetiver grass penetrate the subsoil beneath the masonry, creating a reinforced biological barrier against hillside slumping. Additionally, the harvested grass foliage serves as nutritious fodder for cattle during prolonged dry spells when natural pastureland is severely depleted. By combining traditional masonry engineering with strategic vegetative reinforcement, the Konso farmers have managed to protect their fragile topsoil while simultaneously establishing a dependable emergency feed source for their livestock, ensuring farm survival through severe climate fluctuations.
Based on the passage above, what can be logically inferred regarding the traditional stone walls prior to the integration of vetiver grass?
- They were effective against ordinary historical rainfall but inadequate for handling extreme weather events.Answer
- BThey were constructed primarily to function as livestock feeding stations rather than soil conservation structures.
- CThey were completely ineffective even during normal rainstorms due to flawed traditional building techniques.
- DThey relied on imported synthetic materials that degraded the quality of the surrounding subsoil.