Essay on soil conservation
Develop direct effect on reducing the raindrop impact; increasing the infiltration rate; reducing essay on soil conservation runoff volume and decreasing the water velocity. This institute has 8 regional research centres all over the country, located at Chandigarh to tackle the Siwalik foothill problems, Agra, Kota, essay on soil conservation, Vasad, Bellary, Oata Chamund, Koraput and Datia. How to Conserve Soil Moisture? The non-cultivated land is concerned the pasture lands are taken into consideration for preparing the soil conservation strategies. Apart from reduction in crop yields due to loss of nutrients, the erosion also destroy the soil resources every year at alarming rate.
Start Uploading Your Articles Now.
In India about 81 m. million hectare lands out of total geographical area of hectares are affected by erosion problem. Out of these about 40 mha lands are badly affected and need immediate control measures. The dominating factors which are responsible for producing the problems of soil erosion in India, are the excessive deforestation, essay on soil conservation, overgrazing, faulty agricultural practices and occurrence of flood. In order to maximize the extent of net cultivable area, essay on soil conservation, the importance is now given to the soil conservation work in the country. In the first five year plan, the urgency has been given for making the nationwide policy, essay on soil conservation, dealing with various existing problems, essay on soil conservation resulted into recognization of soil and water conservation work plan.
In the first five year plan to the soil conservation schemes were approved in three heads; they are the immobilizing of deserts, bunding and terracing on hilly lands and afforestation of ravines and severely eroded areas. In which, about 2. In addition, eight regional essay on soil conservation cum research centres were also established to study the soil conservation problems of the country. During this, the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur was established to undertake the studies on the desert problems existing in the state of Rajasthan. The Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Dehradun as one of the ICAR institutes was also established in as a central body to conduct different activities regarding soil conservation, which was subsequently recognized as central institute in the year of essay on soil conservation This institute has 8 regional research centres all over the country, located at Chandigarh to tackle the Siwalik foothill problems, Agra, Kota, Vasad, Bellary, Oata Chamund, essay on soil conservation, Koraput and Datia.
Similarly, in the second five year plan the soil conservation works such as contour bunding and terracing were carried out with rapid progress, and an area of about 8 lakh hectares was completed. Soil conservation and land use survey was also initiated on about 5 lakh essay on soil conservation land. In addition, essay on soil conservation, the soil conservation measures were also conducted on different catchment areas of major river valleys of the country as very urgent, to check the increasing rate of silt deposition in the reservoirs. Essay 2. Principles of Soil Conservation : The ultimate objective of soil conservation is to have maximum sustainable level of production from the given land piece along with maintaining the soil loss below the threshold limit.
The threshold value of soil loss theoretically reveals the balance between the natural rate of soil formation and the soil erosion. Also, the objective need to reduce the erosion for checking nutrient loss from the agricultural land, or indirectly to prevent the pollution of water bodies; to decrease the sedimentation rate in reservoirs, rivers, canals and ditches are very important. In longer term, the soil erosion is required to control the land deterioration or it gets to be abandoned which cannot be reclaimed thereafter, because of limited options for future land use.
Since, soil erosion is the natural process, therefore, it cannot be prevented, but can be reduced to an acceptable limit. On this aspect, a decision is required to take, that the soil erosion rate should not affect the sustained agricultural production, along with minimizing the environmental impacts. Overall, the strategies of soil conservation should be based on the following main points:. Development of soil cover to protect essay on soil conservation soil from raindrop impact. Increasing infiltration capacity of the soil to reduce the erosion impact. Increasing infiltration capacity of soil to reduce the runoff. The objective of soil conservation can be fulfilled by various measures, in which the agronomic measures, soil management and mechanical measures are the main.
The agronomic or biological measures utilize the vegetations to minimize the erosion. Soil management refers to the practices for preparing the soil to generate a vigorous vegetative growth and improve soil structure so that there would be good resistant against particles detachment or soil erosion. The mechanical measures manipulate the land topography for controlling soil loss. The bunds and terraces are the main structures under mechanical measures used for controlling the flow of water, and thereby checking the soil loss. When deciding the conservation measures to employ, the first preference should always be given to the agronomical measures; not to the mechanical measures, because of the following reasons:. Develop direct effect on reducing the raindrop impact; increasing the infiltration rate; reducing the runoff volume and decreasing the water velocity.
Mechanical measures are ineffective on their own, because they cannot prevent detachment of soil particles. The main role of mechanical structures is to supplement the agronomical measures. Essay 3. Soil Conservation Research and Training Centers : In India, the research on soil and water conservation was started around in the thirties of this century. For the purpose, in the Government of India set up Soil Conservation Board, which chairman is the Union Agriculture Minister, and members of it are appointed from different departments and organisations. The main function of this board is to coordinate the soil conservation research programmes throughout the country. This board also set ups different regional research centres, demonstration and training centres for pursuance of different objectives related to soil conservation.
The different research centres and their research problems dealt, are given as under:. Apart from above soil and water conservation research centres, the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur Rajasthan is also conducting several valuable research programs in the field of soil and water conservation, especially for arid zones. The Soil Conservation Centre, Hazaribagh is also dealing the soil conservation problem of Damodar Valley essay on soil conservation. The establishment dates of different soil conservation research, demonstration and training centres in India are given in Table 1. The all above soil conservation centres were transferred to ICAR in Oct. The Central Soil and Water Conservation Research Demonstration and Training Centre, Hyderabad became as headquarter of AICRP for Dry land Agriculture, which is now named as CRIDA.
In at Jodhpur a Desert Afforestation Research Station was also established, which was re-designated as Desert Afforestation and Soil Conservation Station in the yearwhich now is CAZRI. Essay 4. In this direction, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Indian Council of Agricultural Research made a combine effort to delineate the entire geographical area of country into ten 10 soil conservation regions. Essay 5. Soil Conservation Problems in India : As per research findings, for generating 2, essay on soil conservation. In India, majority of areas are under severe effects of soil erosion problems. In other words, there is very little area free from the soil erosion problem, essay on soil conservation.
However, the severity of soil erosion problem is being more in humid and sub-humid areas due to high rainfall and improper management of land and water. As per report, out of The agricultural lands share more aerial extent regarding erosion problem. Apart from reduction in crop yields due to loss of nutrients, the erosion also destroy the soil resources every year at alarming rate. Similarly, the districts of Akola, Buldana and Yeotmal have also been reported to have such problems. About 2. The Shivalik hills where forests and vegetations have been denudated; the Himalayas; the Western Ghats; the Eastern Ghats and the mountainous regions of Deccan have been under severe soil erosion problems, and agricultural lands have been destroyed.
In Hoshiarpur Punjab an area of about 19, ha has been under erosion, which has increased to 32, ha from to 37, ha up to and is expected to about 60, ha up to In the Himalayan regions, because of improper land management, the problem of landslides and land- slips are also in very serious stage. The status of soil conservation problems in India is presented in Table 1. Essay 6. Soil Conservation Programmes under Five Year Plans : The salient features of land management and soil conservation programmes carried out during different live year plans are described as under:.
Under this five year plan, the following main aspects of land management and soil conservation were taken into consideration:. Creation of resources for facilitating the research and training programmes in the field of land management and soil conservation. Streamlining of administrative and organisational structures dealing the problems of land management and soil conservation. Establishment of Soil Conservation Board at national level to co-ordinate and guide land management and soil conservation programmes throughout the country. Establishment of nine soil conservation research and demonstration centres.
The soil conservation centre was also opened at Jodhpur for conducting the study on the problems essay on soil conservation to arid zones. This centre was renamed as CAZRI, Jodhpur, later on. The followings are the main salient features of this five year plan, regarding land management and soil conservation:. The All Essay on soil conservation Soil and Land use Survey Organisation was established essay on soil conservation central level. The centrally sponsored schemes were stressed on implementation of conservation measures in the catchments of major river valley projects. In this five year plan, the works which were carried out during previous three five years plan were continued. Since, the period was very short, therefore, the meaningful result could not achieved.
During this five year plan the following main achievements were obtained:, essay on soil conservation. The All India Soil and Land Use Survey was become able to prepare a detail analysis of different watersheds of the country. On the basis of relative erodibility, essay on soil conservation, all the watersheds were classified into sub-watersheds. Afforestation practices were undertaken at broader scale to improve the conditions of degraded lands. The Integrated Watershed Management was successfully undertaken in different parts of the country. The catchments of major river valley projects were also included in this programme.
In this five year plan the problems undertaken during previous plans were continued for investigating more results. However, the main achievements obtained during Vth five year plan were as under:. The land reclamation and development organisations were opened in different states of the country. Lands subject to the careful practices due to shifting cultivation were taken into consideration at large scale. The projects carrying out on Land management and Soil conservation were further integrated. For reclaiming ravine areas of Yamuna, Chambal and Mahi rivers new technologies were introduced. For developing the package of practices to tackle the problem areas of the essay on soil conservation, new research schemes were also formulated.
New technologies for landslide and gully control were also searched out and tested successfully in the field. In this plan period more concentrations were made on the treatment of small watersheds which essay on soil conservation varies up to ha. It was derived as conclusion that smaller watersheds are more manageable than the bigger watersheds. Areal seeding technique was introduced for afforestation purposes of ravine areas. In this plan an intensive programme for integrated management of about sub-watersheds of 8 flood prone catchments of Ganga River were under taken for study purposes. For continuous monitoring of different water management programmes a system essay on soil conservation developed.
For erosion control in mountainous regions more attention was paid. Seventh Five Year Plan to :.
easy cause and effect essay topics
The establishment dates of different soil conservation research, demonstration and training centres in India are given in Table 1. The all above soil conservation centres were transferred to ICAR in Oct. The Central Soil and Water Conservation Research Demonstration and Training Centre, Hyderabad became as headquarter of AICRP for Dry land Agriculture, which is now named as CRIDA. In at Jodhpur a Desert Afforestation Research Station was also established, which was re-designated as Desert Afforestation and Soil Conservation Station in the year , which now is CAZRI.
Essay 4. In this direction, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Indian Council of Agricultural Research made a combine effort to delineate the entire geographical area of country into ten 10 soil conservation regions. Essay 5. Soil Conservation Problems in India : As per research findings, for generating 2. In India, majority of areas are under severe effects of soil erosion problems. In other words, there is very little area free from the soil erosion problem. However, the severity of soil erosion problem is being more in humid and sub-humid areas due to high rainfall and improper management of land and water. As per report, out of The agricultural lands share more aerial extent regarding erosion problem.
Apart from reduction in crop yields due to loss of nutrients, the erosion also destroy the soil resources every year at alarming rate. Similarly, the districts of Akola, Buldana and Yeotmal have also been reported to have such problems. About 2. The Shivalik hills where forests and vegetations have been denudated; the Himalayas; the Western Ghats; the Eastern Ghats and the mountainous regions of Deccan have been under severe soil erosion problems, and agricultural lands have been destroyed. In Hoshiarpur Punjab an area of about 19, ha has been under erosion, which has increased to 32, ha from to 37, ha up to and is expected to about 60, ha up to In the Himalayan regions, because of improper land management, the problem of landslides and land- slips are also in very serious stage.
The status of soil conservation problems in India is presented in Table 1. Essay 6. Soil Conservation Programmes under Five Year Plans : The salient features of land management and soil conservation programmes carried out during different live year plans are described as under:. Under this five year plan, the following main aspects of land management and soil conservation were taken into consideration:. Creation of resources for facilitating the research and training programmes in the field of land management and soil conservation. Streamlining of administrative and organisational structures dealing the problems of land management and soil conservation.
Establishment of Soil Conservation Board at national level to co-ordinate and guide land management and soil conservation programmes throughout the country. Establishment of nine soil conservation research and demonstration centres. The soil conservation centre was also opened at Jodhpur for conducting the study on the problems related to arid zones. This centre was renamed as CAZRI, Jodhpur, later on. The followings are the main salient features of this five year plan, regarding land management and soil conservation:.
The All India Soil and Land use Survey Organisation was established at central level. The centrally sponsored schemes were stressed on implementation of conservation measures in the catchments of major river valley projects. In this five year plan, the works which were carried out during previous three five years plan were continued. Since, the period was very short, therefore, the meaningful result could not achieved. During this five year plan the following main achievements were obtained:. The All India Soil and Land Use Survey was become able to prepare a detail analysis of different watersheds of the country. On the basis of relative erodibility, all the watersheds were classified into sub-watersheds.
Afforestation practices were undertaken at broader scale to improve the conditions of degraded lands. The Integrated Watershed Management was successfully undertaken in different parts of the country. The catchments of major river valley projects were also included in this programme. In this five year plan the problems undertaken during previous plans were continued for investigating more results. However, the main achievements obtained during Vth five year plan were as under:. The land reclamation and development organisations were opened in different states of the country.
Lands subject to the careful practices due to shifting cultivation were taken into consideration at large scale. The projects carrying out on Land management and Soil conservation were further integrated. For reclaiming ravine areas of Yamuna, Chambal and Mahi rivers new technologies were introduced. For developing the package of practices to tackle the problem areas of the country, new research schemes were also formulated. New technologies for landslide and gully control were also searched out and tested successfully in the field. In this plan period more concentrations were made on the treatment of small watersheds which area varies up to ha. It was derived as conclusion that smaller watersheds are more manageable than the bigger watersheds.
Areal seeding technique was introduced for afforestation purposes of ravine areas. In this plan an intensive programme for integrated management of about sub-watersheds of 8 flood prone catchments of Ganga River were under taken for study purposes. For continuous monitoring of different water management programmes a system was developed. For erosion control in mountainous regions more attention was paid. Seventh Five Year Plan to :. More attention was given on providing of soil conservation trainings. Development of appropriate institutional framework with a view to forge a close relationship amongst different departments and organisations, which are associated to the soil and water conservation schemes. For better effectiveness of different soil and water conservation projects more concentration was given on their monitoring work.
Apart from above, the plan wise area treated and expenditure incurred under them are given in Table 1. Essay 7. The presence of soil cover dissipates the impact of rain drops and thereby reduction in soil erosion. Increase in intake capacity of the soil makes the runoff rate to reduce, virtually the soil erosion also reduced, accordingly. The surface roughness reduces the overland flow velocity and also of wind effect to detach the soil particles. For deciding the conservation measures to employ, the preference is always given to the agronomic measures, because:.
Directly deal to reduce the rain drop impact, increase the infiltration rate, reduce runoff volume and decrease the velocity of runoff and wind. Basically, the agronomic or biological measures utilize the conductive effects of vegetations to minimize the soil erosion. The management approach to soil conservation is concerned, it deals the ways of preparing the soil to promote dense vegetative growth and improve its structure so that it can create more resisting surface for reducing the impact of rain and wind and soil erosion, thereby. Their main role is to act as supplement measure for agronomic measures used to control the flow of excess water and wind. The mechanical measures are being costly to install and also their maintenance.
Some mechanical structures like, terraces and bunds create problems for agricultural operations. Unless the soil depth is sufficient at the given site, the terrace construction is not feasible. At shallow soil depth, the terrace construction exposes the bed rock or less fertile sub-soils and therefore it results in low crop yield. Similarly, on irregular slopes the terraces are varied in width, which makes the use of farm machineries difficult. Apart from above, there is always risk of terrace failure due to severe storm with return periods of 20 years or more. The agronomic measures combined with good soil management practices provide better influence on detachment and transportation of soil particles in the process of soil erosion, whereas mechanical measures are effective in controlling the transportation process by creating checks at regular intervals along the water flow course.
Voetberg and Morgan have shown the effect of various soil conservation measures on detachment and transportation of soil particles in soil erosion process, cited in Table 1. Essay 8. Planning of Soil Conservation Strategies : For reducing soil erosion in effective manner, the formulation of soil conservation schemes must be based on appropriate design, considering most appropriate sequence of events associated to the soil erosion phenomena. The success of any soil conservation scheme or plan depends very much on how accurately the nature of erosion problem has been identified and on the suitability of conservation measures selected to deal the problem and relation to the agricultural land use system, which is easy to implement by the farmers or other personnel.
The sequence of events to be considered for planning soil conservation strategy, suggested by Perrens and Trustrum are given as under:. A Land and Water Resource Inventory :. Physical Factors — soils, geology, rainfall, land slope, vegetation, micro- relief and drainage pattern. Physical Factors — stream flow, floods, water quality and sedimentation. B Land Capability Assessment and Erosion Sedimentation Index :. Identification of sources of erosion hazard and fate of the sediment. Ranking of landscape unit and elements based on erosion and sedimentation sources and sinks. C Potential Land Use and Suitability and Conservation Needs :.
Consideration of socio-economic factors and integrating soil conservation with land use systems. D Conservation Need with Land Use Potential :. E Options and Priorities :. F Management Actions :. G Quantification of Impacts on Landscape and Productivity, i. H Evaluation of Impacts :. Soil Conservation Strategies for Cultivated Land :. The problem of soil erosion in cultivated land gets generate, particularly when soil is being without cover or when trees, bushes or grasses have been removed. Compaction of soil through use of heavy machineries and pulverizing the soil at the time of seed bed preparation.
Fewer people realize that their well-being also depends on the health of the soil. Soil supports the growth of most of our food and fibre, so its productivity is a major factor in the economies of Canada and other nations. But soil also has a much broader, global role. Soil acts as a filter, cleaning air and water. It exchanges gases with the atmosphere and thus influences the global climate. Soil receives organic wastes and recycles their nutrients back to plants; it also holds and breaks down some toxic wastes. Because soil plays such a key role in world health, economics and environmental stability, we must conserve it and use it in a sustainable manner.
This practices aim at some objective as follows:? To divide a long slope of land into a series of shorter ones in order to reduce the velocity of run off water. To retain the water in the land for long period so as to allow maximum water to be absorbed and held in the soil and less water flows down the slope of the land at non-erosive velocity. To protect the soil against erosion by water. The important mechanical soil conservation measures are as follows: Contour bunding Contour bunding consists of building earthen embankment at intervals across the slope and along the contour line of the field.
A series of such bund divide the area into strips and act as barrier to the flow of water. As a result, the amount and velocity of run-off are reduced, resulting reducing he soil erosion. Contour bunding is made on land where the slope is not very steep and the soil is fairly permeable. Contour bunds are also called level terraces, absorbtion type terraces or ridge type teracces. Contour bunding works are carried out over wide areas in many parts of India, notably in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Terracing A terrace is an embankment of ridge of earth constructed across the slope to control run off and to minimize soil erosion. A terrace reduces the length of the hill side slope, thereby reducing sheet and rill erosion and prevents formation of gullies. There are different types of terraces as follows:?
Bench terracing: It consists of transforming relatively steeps land into a series of level or nearly level strips or steeps running across the slope. The soil materials that are excavated from the upper part of the terrace is used in filling the lower part and a small bund is also raised along the outer edge of the terrace to check the downward flow of rainwater and also soil erosion. Channel terrace: It consists of making of wide but shallow channels across the slope of the land either exactly on contour line or with a slight grade 0. per cent. In this process, the excavated soil is placed along the lower edge of the channel in the form of low ridge. Narrow based terrace: It consists of making a number of narrow based ridges or bunds at a distance of 1m to 2m across the slope of the land at suitable intervals in high rainfall areas.
Broad based ridge terrace: It consists of making wide but low bunds on the contour lines by excavating soils from both sides of terrace. This is practiced in areas where the rainfall is relatively low. Contour trenching: It consist of making a series of deep pit i. wide and 1ft. eep or trenches across the slope at convenient distance. The soil excavated from the trenches is deposited on the lower edge of the trenches where forest trees are planted. Land Development Land development consists of leveling and bunding to enable control of soil erosion and production of more remunerative crops. Diversion Bund The uncontrolled discharge from the hillocks cause heavy soil erosion in uplands down below. So a diversion bund is put along the foot hill zone along the contour with proper safe disposal system to protect the land from soil erosion.
Gully control The gullies are formed due to soil erosion in all types of lands. A gully control measure consists of construction of series of check dams across the gully. There may be brush wook, check dams, rock fill check dams and masonry check dams according to the severity of the problem. These are supported by vegetative measures. The gullies threaten to engulf adjoining valuable lands and at times damage the roads and buildings. By gully control measures, the land is protected and in most cases reclaimed for cultivation. Watershed Development The watershed is the geohydrological unit discharging the run-off to a particular point. The soil conservation measures on watershed basis have proved to be more effective. Hence treatment measures on watershed basis from top to bottom down to the drainage line are taken up under watershed development programme with active participation of the people of the locality.
It consists of basic activities like nursery, training, research etc and conservation and production system in arable and non-arable land, drainage line treatment and live stock management. Agronomic soil conservation measures: Use of Vegetation Crops and vegetables which cover the ground surface well and have extensive root system reduce soil erosion. Plant canopy protect the soil from the adverse effect of rainfall. The grasses and legumes produce dense sod which helps in reducing soil erosion. The vegetation provides organic matter to the soil. As a result, the fertility of soil increases and the physical condition of soil is improved.
Following cropping systems help in controlling soil erosion. Crop rotation Crop rotation is planned sequence of cropping. Rotation of crop is an important method for checking erosion and maintaining productivity of soil. A good rotation should include densely planted small grain crops, spreading legume crop etc. which may check soil erosion. Strip Cropping It consists of growing erosion permitting crop e. Jowar, Bajra, Maize etc. in alternate strips with erosion checking close growing crops e. grasses, pulses etc. Strip cropping employs several good farming practices including crop rotation, contour cultivation, proper tillage, stubbles mulching, cover cropping etc. It is very effective and practical means for controlling soil erosion, specially for gently slopping land.
It may be of different types as follows:? Contour strip Cropping: Contour strip cropping is the growing of erosion permitting and erosion resisting crops alternately in strips across the slope and on the contour line. This practice is useful because it checks the fast flow of run-off water increases the infiltration of water in the soil and prevents soil erosion. Field Strip Cropping: Strips of crop are parallel to the general slope of the land. Wind Strip Cropping: Strips of crop are across the direction of wind regardless of contour.
Buffer Strip Cropping: In this, the severally eroded portion of land is permanently kept under grass and contour strip cropping is practices in the rest of the area. Cultivation of proper crops Cultivation of row crop in sloppy lands permits soil erosion. In this filed, the crops particularly cereals, fodder crop etc. should be broadcasted and the plants remain haphazardly in field. As a result, the movement of water gets obstacle and more water is absorbed in the soil, thus reducing soil erosion. Mixed and intercropping Cowpea-Vigna catjang, with cotton — Gossipum Sp, maize — Zea mays with soyabean — Glycine max etc.
practice checks the soil erosion and avoids the risks of the crop failure. The land should not be kept without crop There is very scope of soil erosion if there are no crops on the land. The soil erosion decreases in different way of cropped land. Afforestation Afforestation means growing of forests where there were no forests before owing to lack of seed trees or due to adverse factors such as unstable soil, aridity or swampiness. Along with afforestation, reforestation should be undertaken which means replanting of forests at places where they have been destroyed by uncontrolled forest fires, excessive felling and lopping. Afforestation is the best means to check the soil erosion. Lutz and Chandler cited the following points in support of vegetational check erosion as follows:?
Infiltration of water is favoured due to high porosity of soil under vegetation. Percolation of water helps in preventing the soil moisture which accelerates further growth of the vegetation. Surface accumulation of organic matter increases the water holding capacity of the underground soil. Root system of vegetation holds the soil mechanically and provides stability of the underground soil. It gives the protection against wind. The forest vegetation shields the soil from direct effect of drought, snow and rain. Mulching: Mulches of different kinds such a leaves, straws, paper, stubbles, etc. inimize evaporation and increase the absorption of moisture and protect the surface of the land against the beating action of rain drops.
Later on they decay to form humus which improves the physical condition of soil. Natural mulching also helps in the infiltration of water and the reduction of evaporation. Organic manure: Organic manures improve the soil structure. The crumb and granular structure increases the infiltration and permeability in the soil and conserve the soil water. Consequently soil erosion decreases. Control of grazing Grazing increases the soil erosion. But the grazing cannot be completely stopped in all areas. So the restricted and rotational grazing may be helpful in checking soil erosion to some extent.
The area open to grazing for sometimes should be closed for the following year to facilitate regeneration of forests and to maintain thick ground vegetation. Good tillage Tillage is the mechanical manipulation of soil by different kinds of implements. Tillage makes the soil loose and friable which helps in retention of water. The special method of tillage practices should be followed for the conservation purposes. Tillage may consist of several types of soil manipulation such as ploughing, harrowing, cultivation etc. The quality of agricultural soils can also be maintained conserved or even improved by using soil conservation practices. Examples of these include adding organic material e. The type of farming activity that takes place on an area of land, be it pasture or cultivation of forage or fiber crops, cereals, oilseeds, berry fruits or vegetables, depends on the type of soil, the climate and whether crops are grown under natural rainfall or irrigation.
On pasture lands, agricultural management practices include restricting the density of animal stocking, using rotational grazing resting fields after they have been grazed , controlling weeds, and protecting vegetation and banks along water courses. On cultivated lands, soil management practices include crop selection and rotation, choice of tillage methods leaving crop residues on the surface or plowing them into the soil , controlling the traffic patterns of tractors and machinery, determining rates of fertilizers and other soil amendments to apply, controlling pests and managing water. Crops that provide high-density and year-round ground cover offer greater protection against soil erosion than row-cropping or cropping systems that include extensive use of cultivated fallow. Minimizing the amount of tillage used for weed control or seedbed preparation reduces the breakdown of soil structure the arrangement of soil particles into granules or clods , and keeps more plant residues on the soil surface compared to more intensive tillage.
This helps maintain soil tilth and control soil erosion. Reducing the rate of oxidation of soil organic matter can contribute to increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil, which is an important factor in reducing the greenhouse gas effect the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere. Soil management that returns plant nutrients to the soil at the rate of their removal by crops will help maintain soil fertility. Reduced use of pesticides on erosion-prone soils, or use of pesticides accompanied with effective soil conservation measures, reduces the risk of contaminated sediments getting into surface water.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AAFC has developed a series of Agri-Environmental Indicators for use in tracking the trends relating to soil conservation and environmental sustainability.
