Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Conservation
Soil erosion is widespread
• Humans are the primary cause of erosion
• 19 billion hectares of croplands worldwide suffer
from erosion
• Kazakhstan lost tends of millions of hectares to
wind erosion
• Soil degradation over the next 40 years in Africa
could reduce crop yields by half
• The on-farm cost of agricultural land degradation
in Canada is $670 million per year
7-3
Soil degradation: A global concern
7-4
Soil degradation:
A global concern
• Soil degradation
results from
deforestation,
agriculture and
overgrazing
• Over the past 50
years, soil degradation
has reduced global
grain production by
7-5
13%
Desertification reduces productivity
of arid lands
• Desertification
– A loss of more than 10% productivity from erosion,
soil compaction, forest removal, overgrazing,
salinization, climate change, depletion of water
sources
– A type of land degradation
– Affects 1/3 of the planet’s land area
– Most prone areas are arid and semiarid lands
– Climate change could result in displacement of 50
million people in 10 years
7-6
What is soil erosion?
The denudation of
the soil cover and
subsequent
washing down is
Soil erosion by running water
described as soil
erosion.
A. Natural Factors.
B. Human Factors.
Soil erosion by wind
Population and consumption degrade soil
Plants anchor in O
and A horizons
(top soil)
Removal of plants
make soil
susceptible to
erosion
Over-grazing,
Urbanization
Construction
activities,
Mining activities.
Defective methods of
farming such as
ploughing in a wrong
way i.e. up and down
the slope.
• Tillage
• Repeated plowing
– Breaks down soil aggregates
leaving “plow pan” or “hard
pan” (hard, unfertile soil)
• Opening up Earth to plant new
seeds
– Increases soil erosion
– It is done since it is thought to
increase soil nutrients
Overcropping
• When land is continuously farmed, the nutrients
are drained from the soil which destroys soil
structure and makes it less fertile.
• Monoculture
– Planting of just one type of crop in large area
– Decrease in genetic diversity of crop species
• Lack of genetic variation=increased susceptibility to pests and
diseases
• Consistent planting of one plant in area LEACHES soil of specific
nutrients needed for plant growth
– Prevention Method: CROP ROTATION
• Different crops are planted in growing area in each growing
season
• Machinery
– Large machines
– Agriculture industry is a huge consumer of energy
• Energy is consumed by:
– Production of pesticides
– Production of Fertilizers
– Use of fossil fuels to power farm machinery
• Green Revolution=boom in agricultural productivity
• Industrial revolution mechanization of farming increase
world wide agricultural productivity in last 50 years of
=detrimental to environment
• India became self sufficient in food
• Drawbacks
– Increase in irrigation = Over irrigated soils= SALINIZATION
• Soil becomes water logged and when it dries out,
salt forms a layer on the surface, which leads to
land-degradation
– Chemical pesticides=new insect species that are pesticide-
resistant
» Recently GM plants are helping solve pesticide problem
Irrigation can cause long-term soil
problems
• Irrigation = Artificially providing water to support
agriculture
• Waterlogging = over-irrigated soils which suffocates
roots
• Salinization = the buildup of salts in surface soil
layers
– Salinization inhibits production of 20% of all
irrigated cropland, costing more than $11
billion/year
7-25
Other chemicals also contribute to
soil contamination
• Fertilizer = substances that contain essential nutrients but
over-application can damage soils
• Inorganic fertilizers = mined or synthetically manufactured
mineral supplements
• Organic fertilizers = the remains or wastes of organisms
– manure, crop residues, fresh vegetation
– Compost = produced when decomposers break down
organic matter
– Not perfect when it gets into the water system
7-26
Other chemicals also contribute to
soil contamination (cont’d)
• Nitrogen and phosphorous runoff from farms and
other sources can lead to algal blooms
• Nitrates can leach through soil and contaminate
groundwater
• Pesticides are another source of soil contamination
• Industrial activity contaminates soil through
inappropriate disposal of wastes and improper
storage
7-27
Grazing practices can contribute to
soil degradation
Overgrazing is largely
responsible for the
permanent drying out of
parts of the Mediterranean –
e.g. Greece and Syria
7-28
Irrigation can cause long-term soil
problems (cont’d)
• Remedies for correcting salinization once
it has occurred:
– Choose crops appropriate for the area
– Irrigate with low-salt water
– Irrigate efficiently
• Drip irrigation targets water directly to plants
7-29
Types of soil erosion
1) Rain splash Erosion:
Raindrops accelerate as fall until
they reach speed at which friction
balances gravity
for large raindrops: 30 km / hr
transfer kinetic energy to soil:
detach soil
destroy structure
transport soil (as much as
0.7 m vertically and 2 m
horizontally)
2) Sheet Erosion: Sometimes
water flows as a sheet over
large areas down a slope. In
such cases the top soil is
washed away. This is known
as sheet erosion.
Types of soil erosion Rill erosion
5) Rill Erosion: when runoff
creates small, linear
depressions in the soil
surface Gully erosion
6) Gully erosion: rills may
join together
concentrating water and
enlarge forming deep
channels as gullies. Badlands
Deepens and retreats
upslope
The land becomes unfit
for cultivation -known as
bad lands Ravines of Chambal basin
3)Wind erosion: Wind
blows loose soil off flat or
sloping land known as
wind erosion.
Arid and semi-arid
climates
Improve soil management
Practice:
* contour plowing
* reduced tillage or no
tillage,
* using windbreaks to
reduce wind speeds at
the land surface,
* allowing soils to rest
* promote humus
production
What is Soil Conservation?
• Soil conservation is a set of management
strategies for prevention of soil being eroded
from the Earth’s surface or becoming
chemically altered by overuse, acidification,
salinization or other chemical soil
contamination.
SOIL CONSERVATION-DEFINITON
ADVANTAGES
• Tree Belts
– Planting lines of trees to create shelter belts from wind.
Rows of such trees are called shelter belts
– Stabilisation of desert in western India
Drip irrigation is one way scientists have
started combating problem
Allots area only necessary amounts of
water
Water delivered straight to roots
Conservation plowing
farmers disturb the soil and its plant
cover as little as possible.