Chapter 22

Soil Conservation

(book excerpts)

One of the most valuable resources mankind has ever had, and ever will have, is soil. Soil conservation is a “combination" of practices and strategies used to protect the soil from degradation. First and foremost, soil conservation involves treating the soil as a living ecosystem, and recognizing that all the organisms that make the soil their home, play important roles in producing a fertile healthy environment. Soil conservation efforts aim to preserve soil fertility and productivity and play a significant role in sustainable farming, food security, and protecting the environment. Understanding the processes and factors that govern soil degradation is very important to implementing its control practice and will help to manage soil degradation thus leading to soil conservation. Soil conservation encompasses a variety of practices that work to safeguard soil integrity including prevention or reduction of soil erosion caused by wind, water, or tillage; prevention or reduction of soil compaction caused by farm implements and livestock; and conservation or drainage of soil water for good plant growth.

Click on the following topics for more information on soil conservation.

Topics Within This Chapter:

  • Soil Erosion
  • Water Erosion
  • Mechanics of Water Erosion
  • Factors Affecting Water Erosion
  • Impact of Water Erosion
  • Wind Erosion
  • Mechanics of Wind Erosion
  • Factors Affecting Wind Erosion
  • Impact of Wind Erosion
  • Tillage Erosion
  • Managing Soil Erosion
  • Conservation Tillage
  • Strip Cropping
  • Contour Tillage and Planting
  • Cover Crops
  • Shelterbelts
  • Conservation Buffer Strips
  • Grass Waterways
  • Irrigation
  • Managed Grazing
  • Soil Compaction
  • Forms of Soil Compaction
  • Surface Soil Compaction
  • Subsoil Compaction
  • Types of Subsoil Compaction
  • Stratified Soils
  • Claypan Soils
  • Plow Pan Soils
  • Hardpan Soils
  • Clay-Rich Soils
  • Soil Susceptibility to Compaction
  • Effects of Soil Compaction
  • Hydraulic Conductivity
  • Nutrient Uptake
  • Root Growth
  • Prevention of Soil Compaction
  • Reduced Tillage Practices
  • Build Soil Organic Matter
  • Controlled-Traffic Farming
  • Timing of Field Operations
  • Load Distribution
  • Managed Grazing
  • Crop Rotations
  • Remediation of Soil Compaction
  • Tillage
  • Subsoiling
  • Improved Soil Drainage
  • Growing Deep-Rooted Cover Crops
  • Soil Drainage
  • Clay Soils
  • Types of Field Drainage
  • Surface Drainage
  • Subsurface Drainage
  • Constructed Wetlands
  • Concerns with Land Drainage