Soil Conservation

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Soil Conservation
by \| 03-08-2015 19:47 0
All over the globe there are instances proving that the soil is eroding . This causes the sea level to rise and lands closer to rivers and coastal areas are eroding . There is much need to conserve the soil . Soil conservation is a combination of all methods of management and land use that safeguard the soil against depletion or deterioration by natural or human-induced factors. It most often attempts to ensure that soil does not erode and wash into streams and lakes or blow away in the wind, but it also involves the protection of the soil from damage by machinery (e.g., compaction) or by harmful changes to its chemistry (e.g., acidification or salinization). (See also Agricultural Soil Practices.) Importance Most people know that they need clean air and clean water to stay healthy. Fewer people realize that their well-being also depends on the health of the soil. Soil supports the growth of food and fibre, so its productivity is a major factor in the economies of Canada and other nations. Yet soil also has a much broader, global role. Soil acts as a filter, cleaning air and water. It exchanges gases with the atmosphere and therefore 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, it must be conserved and used in a sustainable manner. Land Use The inherent or natural quality of a soil is determined by the geological materials and soil-forming processes (such as chemical and physical weathering) that combine to produce it. The characteristics of a natural soil can be changed by human activities, including land use and farming practices. In agriculture and forestry, decline of inherent soil quality can occur because of erosion, loss of soil organic matter, compaction, desertification and other degrading processes. Conservation Practices Soil conservation practices are commonly used in forestry during harvesting and replanting operations. Likewise, similar practices can maintain or even improve the quality of agricultural soils. Examples of these practices include adding organic (e.g., manure) and inorganic (e.g., limestone) materials, using conservation tillage (reduced tillage or no-tillage systems), reducing the amount and frequency of use of summer fallow, rotating crops and growing legumes (e.g., clover). The type of farming activity that takes place on an area of land, be it pasture or cultivation of forage or fibre 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. The more any land use disturbs the land's natural ecology, the greater its effect on soil quality. 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 at which to apply fertilizer, 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 the soil and control 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 by effective soil conservation measures, reduces the risk of contaminated sediments getting into surface water.

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