Earth is a finite structure. Human beings are part of flora and fauna on this earth. Earth was not created for one species only . It was not human species. Millions of plants, animals, insects, birds and billions of microbes make climate and microclimate. Man and life is facilitated on the earth by PLANTS as they takeup the carbondioxide and release oxygen. Earth is a living system in a sense that it has power to absorb and recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other mineral elements etc. Organic matter must be decomposed by microbes and and elements thus released must be refixed by plants to support life again. This helps in achieving sustainable life on the planet. The soil harbours millions of microbes which are activated to life once the plants grow there. Plants provide the oxygen and nutrients to these microbes. Growth of microbes helps in keeping the soil structure intact. Intact soil structure is essential for keeping it in bound form. If you can put sand and through some water on it it will be washed away. If the sand is mixed with silt and microbes bind it together along with visible and invisible root systems, and soil microflora and microfauna solid structures are formed. These structures provide strength to the soil crust and when water comes over the soil is not washed away. If the surface soil is not supported by plant roots, microbes which bind it together, its easily eroded by wind and water takes it away to the rivers and lakes. Once the human activities of devasting the vegetation cover on the hills and river banks takes place the soils become prone to erosion. Once soil erosion sets in the river beds are filled with sand and silt which brings the river bed full and the water if it comes in accesses start moving to the river banks. If river banks had tree support which will help keeping the banks intact. If there are no trees on the river banks the soil is not supported by soil binding roots of plants and microbes harboured by the plant roots nutrients. Once both the ingredients like raised river beds and banks free from tree cover the rivers take their own course or take away the loose soils from their banks and soil erosion takes place and inlands are inundated with water. We call it floods. I dont know what is the meaning of floods but I can be sure what is the contribution of vegetation to prevent the water going astray. Climate change is taking place or not but you can observe things happening at village level and area to area observations. If we are not able to keep our plants and plant formations intact on hills and river banks the floods will keep coming and rest is anybodies guess. What is climate change people will keep asking ? Is it the cause or effect of climate change.