Farming Practices

• What is a key part of the water cycle?

  Infiltration

  • when rain hits the surface, what can't infiltrate runs off instead
• What can affect infiltration?


  farming practices
• what ways can farming practices affect infiltration?

  • Ploughing
  • Crops
  • Livestock
  • Irrigation
• How does ploughing affect infiltration?


  It breaks up the surface so that more water can infiltrate, reducing amount of runoff
• How do crops affect infiltration?

  Increase infiltration and interception compared to bare ground = reduces runoff. Evapotranspiration also increases, which can increase rainfall
• How does livestock affect infiltration?

  Trample and compact the soil, decreasing infiltration and increasing runoff
• example of livestock?


  cattle
• How does irrigation affect infiltration?

  can increase runoff if some of the water cannot infiltrate. groundwater or river levels can fall if water is extracted for irrigation
• Describe irrigation?


  Artificially watering the land