Soil Conservation

• Soil is a sustainable resource. If managed properly soil can sustain large populations.
• The UN Convention to Combat Desertification estimates that in the past 40 years, the earth has lost one third of its arable land. I will examine some methods of soil conservation that are currently being used to try to protect soils around the world.
• Contour ploughing: The traditional way to plough a hill is to plough up and down the slope.
• Contour ploughing: traditional ploughing Allows water to flow freely down the ploughed furrows. Contour ploughing would prevent this.
• Contour ploughing: Farmers plough across a slope and this minimises water flowing downslope and holds the water back long enough to soak into the soil. This has been used successfully in the Apennines in Italy.
• Contour ploughing, Terracing and Stone Lines increase the water content of the soil which is a soil characteristic. They also ensure the growth of more vegetation which can add to the humus content of the soil. Humus content is another important soil characteristic.