Soil Conservation

Comprehensive soil conservation is more than just the control of erosion. It also includes the maintenance of organic matter and nutrients in soil. Soil conservation practices also prevent the buildup of toxic substances in the soil, such as salts and excessive amounts of pesticides. Soil conservation maintains or improves soil fertility, as well as its tilth, or structure. These all increase the capacity of the land to support the growth of plants on a sustainable basis.

There are two basic approaches to soil erosion control: barrier and cover. The barrier approach uses banks or walls such as earthen structures, grass strips, or hedgerows to check runoff, wind velocity, and soil movement. Barrier techniques are commonly used all over the world.

The cover approach maintains a soil cover of living and dead plant material. This cover lessens the impact and runoff of rain water, and decreases the amount of soil carried with it. This may be done through the use of cover crops, mulch, minimum tillage, or agroforestry.