Rotating any crop means the field is less likely to be affected by disease because the pathogens and weeds that cause them dont build up. Soil management is to create optimum conditions for plant growth through improved soil fertility and structure. Soil conservation refers to the prevention of fertile soil loss due to erosion and other environmental factors. In agriculture, some amount of soil management is needed both in nonorganic and organic types to prevent agricultural land from becoming poorly.
Soil conservation and management in developing countries. Principles of soil conservation and management springerlink. A polygenetic calcidic argiustoll with an a, bt, bk, 2bc, 2c horizon sequence. Soil conservation and water conservation are achieved simultaneously and go handinhand. It encompasses physical soil erosion, chemical salinity and alkalinity, pollution and biological. The purpose of these entities, now as then, is to work with farmers and ranchers and help them plan, select, and apply conservation practices to enable their operations to produce. What is soil conservation and what are various ways to. Growing corn year after year in the same field helps deplete the soil of essential nutrients. Soil degradation is a serious global environmental problem and may be exacerbated by climate change.
Scs runoff curve number method introduction professor. It is a huge issue in many parts of the world, and impacts communities in a range of countries. Soil conservation service along witha system of soil and water conservation districts. Thus, biological measures are an effective method of soil and water conservation, especially since they are low in cost. Conclusion biological method of soil conservation is various ways of maintaining a cover of vegetation during the periods of high erosion threat. The chief agents of soil erosion are water and wind. Water harvesting techniques gather water from an area termed the catchment area and channel it to the cropping area or wherever it is required.
As determined by soil erosion and soil conservation have different models and these models are any particular areas and are limited. Unsustainable subsistence farming and the slash and burn clearing methods used in some less developed. Soil conservation technical handbook ministry for the environment. Slashandburn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some. Soil conservation practices are tools the farmer can use to prevent soil degradation and build organic matter.
Some of the methods that must be adopted for conserving soil are as follows. Soil conversation involves working to reduce contamination and depletion. Soil management inappropriate land use activities often cause changes in soil conditions, which in turn contribute to soil erosion. Sustainable production implies that agricultural practices would lead to economic gains without.
Soil conservation is fundamentally a matter of determining a correct form of land use and. Soil conservation an overview sciencedirect topics. Soil erosion is prevented or reduced to a tolerable level, and water is conserved for judicious utilization. Soil conservation is the name given to a handful of techniques aimed at preserving the soil.
Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance such as soil fertility or soil mechanics. The methodology for sustainable land management comprises four different practices namely, agronomic practices, vegetative methods. Effects of soil and water conservation techniques on soil productivity and bean grain yield in nyamasheke district, rwanda joas tugizimana bsc in agricultural engineering a147ea223412011 a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master. Sos 520 principle of soil conservation and management. Biological soil and water conservation measures learning. Crop rotation is a tool that enables farmers to increase soil organic matter content, soil structure and rooting depth.
Soil conservation is important because soil is crucial for many aspects of human life as it provides food, filters air and water and helps to decompose biological waste into nutrients for new plant life. As these soil conservation methods provided no immediate benefit to farmers, construction and maintenance of such structures was seen as both an investment in. Soil erosion, use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, unsustainable agricultural practices, excessive farming, water pollution and land pollution are some of the aspects upsetting the natural functions of the soil. Soil can be drained away or contaminated, destroying it for use.
Slashandburn and other unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are. Mechanical engineering techniques are also used in other ways besides the many. Natural resources conservation service, national soil survey center, lincoln, ne. Pdf a modification to the soil conservation service. Paul brown talks on why soil health is important to farming duration. Pdf an erosion control and soil conservation method for agrarian.
Today these techniques of soil and water conservation are being prac ticed in many countries with much benefit to great numbers of people. Soil erosion has been continuing over, such a large part of. The soil conservation service curve number cn method is widely used for predicting direct runoff from rainfall. The problem of soil conservation is very complicated and is receiving attention of scientists and engineers. Unesco eolss sample chapters land use, land cover and soil sciences vol. Conservation techniques conserve water within the biomass and the soil by reducing runoff and keeping the water where it falls, as much as possible. Land degradation soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. Soil conservation is the prevention of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Additionally, these can be used with structural and agronomic measures. Soil conservation is an important part of sustainable agriculture and food production, since it entails keeping soil from becoming a pollutant in the surface waters, and its ability to sieve and filter pollutants that would otherwise end up in drinking water. Several types of biological soil and water conservation measures exist see figure. Three methods of soil conservation include the prevention of soil erosion, reducing tillage and rotational grazing to prevent overgrazing.
Contour farming, crop rotation, strip cropping, choice of crops, mulching, cover crop, reforestation, mixed crop, wind breaks are major biological soil conservation methods. Soil conservation wisconsin initiative on climate change impacts. What is soil conservation and methods of soil conservation. Chapter 10 estimation of direct runoff from storm rainfall. Soil conservation encyclopedia of life support systems. This act established catchment boards and enabled the appropriation of government and local body funds to assist with the construction of erosion control measures and. It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. Land degradation, soil erosion and soil conservation pmf ias. Dry soil more water absorbed to soil and less runoff soil type light soil sandy large pores and more infiltration heavy textured soils less infiltration and more runoff topographic characteristics higher the slope, faster the runoff channel characters such as length, shape, slope, roughness, storage, density of. Methods and materials in soil conservation a manual written and illustrated by john charman consultant to fao under the supervision of rod gallacher, technical officer soil conservation agll, fao. Assessment of the effects of conservation practices on. At the core of soil conservation in wisconsin and the united states is. Conservation practices sought farming methods that were.
Different methods of land clearance andsilvioultural practicee. Soil conservation stores more of the runoff from excess rainfall in the reservoir of the soil for subsequent crop use. Soil conservation is the practice of protecting the soil against erosion or deterioration. It is an expensive method or reducing soil erosion since it requires moving soil to construct the leveled areas, protecting the steep areas between terraces and. It discusses in detail soil conservation topics in relation to soil productivity, environment quality, and agronomic production. This material is provisionally made accessible in the present form in order to make the contents widely available in advance of eventual printing.
Soil conservation practices are tools the farmer can use to prevent. Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the top most layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. The method is described in detail in national engineering handbook 2004. Soil loss and loss of soil fertility can be traced back to a number of causes including overuse, erosion, salinization and chemical contamination. Iv soil conservation david sanders encyclopedia of life support systems eolss symptom of bad land use and management. The erosion of siwaliks has been studied by glover and hamilton 1935 and gorrie 1951 and various methods have been suggested for soil conservation. The next pages will give you a short overview of the three types of soil and water conservation measures. Soil conservation includes all those measures which help in protecting the soil from erosion and exhaustion. Pdf we present a practical method to control erosion and soil conservation for agrarian activity.
Soil conservation methods vary depending on different regions. Chapter 10 estimation of direct runoff from storm rainfall 630. The scs runoff curve number method is developed by the united states department of agriculture usda soil conservation service scs and is a method of estimating rainfall excess from rainfall hjelmfelt, 1991. Cs and related techniques as a basis for soil conservation, sustainable production. The rainfallrunoff relationship is developed, parameters in the relationship are described, and applications of the method are. The actual art of soil conservation is based on certain basic principles which include. More information about soil and water conservation measures are presented on the website of wocat world overview of conservation approaches and technologies. Terracing is the only practical method of soil conservation on steep land.
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