You might have observed less growth of plants and vegetation during the last ten years or so. How is soil erosion responsible for this? List any two steps that should be taken to prevent it?
Answers
Answer:
Soil is a natural resource that may look robust and endless, but is in fact the fragile product of thousands of years of formation. Topsoil, which lies closest to the surface of the land, contains essential nutrients for crops. It is this layer of soil that is endangered by wind and water erosion. Soil erosion decreases soil fertility, which can negatively affect crop yields.
steps to prevent soil erosion:
1-Use Soil-friendly Agricultural Practices
Terraced farming needs to be implemented to make hillside agriculture manageable. Terraces prevent erosion and allow more water to flow to crops. In addition, hillside farm fields need full crop cover to help keep the soil in place. This can be accomplished by intercropping, which means growing two crops together in the same field, such as planting rows of maize or soybean between rows of oil palm trees.
2-Protecting the Soil by Planting Windbreaks
Windbreaks are linear plantings of shrubs and trees with the goal of improving crop production, protect the soil, people, and livestock. According to FAO, windbreaks can reduce wind velocities for a distance approximately 15 times the height of the tallest trees. As a result, there is a lower rate of soil loss across large crop areas.