Soil and water conservation

and its environmental

impact
Our current mass production style of farming has resulted
in numerous
negative side-affects:
 Environmental damages
– Reduced biodiversity
– Habitat destruction
– Deforestation
– Water, air and soil pollution
– Salinization, desertification
– Decline in water resources
and land subsidence
 Human impacts
– Farm land destruction
– Damage to soil fertility
– Reduced nutritional value of food
– Decreased economic, social and cultural values
For the past several years research has looked at
sustainable agriculture
as a potential solution to correct and prevent these
problems.
 Traditional Methods
 Water harvesting and rainfall. Today 80% of crop
production worldwide relies on rainfall.
– Crop Rotation
– Natural Fertilizers
– Raised Fields
– Terraces
– Irrigation Canals
– Swamps/Lakes
– Home Gardens
– Tree Culture
 Goal
The goal of conservation agriculture is to
minimize adverse impacts to the immediate
and off-farm environments while providing
a sustained level of production and profit.

Inherent to this goal is the understanding

that sustainability must be extended not
only globally, but indefinitely in time, and
to all living organisms including humans.

Simply stated, conservation agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to

produce food indefinitely, without causing irreversible damage to
ecosystem health.
 Today’s Methods
Today, sustainable farming practices commonly include:
 crop rotations that mitigate weeds, disease, insect and other pest problems;
provide alternative sources of soil nitrogen; reduce soil erosion; and reduce
risk of water contamination by agricultural chemicals.
 pest control strategies that are not harmful to natural systems or people,
which include techniques that reduce the need for pesticides by practices
such as scouting, use of resistant cultivars, timing of planting, and
biological pest controls.
 increased mechanical/biological weed control.
 soil and water conservation practices.
 strategic use of animal and green manures.
 use of natural or synthetic inputs in a way that

poses no significant hazard to man, animals,

or the environment.
 A. Crop rotation keeps the soil healthy.
 B. Mixed farms allows the uses of livestock manure.
 C. Conserving natural areas protects our environment.
 D. Small changes in practices can help, rather than harm, the environment.
 E. Grass-fed livestock control weeds without chemicals or mowing.
 F. Science can determine the right amount of fertilizers and pesticides.
 G. Farming removes nutrients and fertilizers or manures replace them.
 H. Farming multiple crops allows farmers to reduce their financial risks by having multiple products to
sell.
Soil erosion by water, wind and
tillage affects both agriculture and
the natural environment. Soil loss,
and its associated impacts, is one
of the most important (yet probably
the least well-known) of today's
environmental problems (BBC( 2000
; Guardian 2004).
"The threat of nuclear weapons and
man's ability to destroy the environment
are really alarming. And yet there are
other almost imperceptible changes -
I am thinking of the exhaustion of our
natural resources, and especially of soil
erosion - and these are perhaps more
dangerous still, because once we begin
to feel their repercussions it will be too
late." (p144 of The Dalai Lama's Little
Book of Inner Peace: 2002, Element
Books, London)
Use land according to its capability and treat it
according to its needs by applying suitable
scientific soil and water conservation measures
for maximum sustained production
• It takes nature 600 –1000 years to build 2.5
cm of top soil but get displaced in a year due
to misuse.
 6000 million tones of productive soil
is lost every year from about 80
million hectare of cultivated land
alone in India
 soil lost from unprotected land is
about 120 t/ha/yr and may go as
high as 300 t/ha/yr.
 Soil & Water
Conservation

Erosion Water Soil Fertility Vegetation

Management Conservation Mgmt Management
 Erosion
Management

Preventive Control
Measures Measures
 Water
Conservation

In Situ Run-Off Water Table

Management Management Management
 Soil Fertility
Management

Integrated
Balanced Nutrient
Nutrient
Nutrients Recycling
Management
 Vegetation
Management

Crops Trees Pastures

ACTIVITIES to be taken :
Integrated Watershed management.
(Shifting Cultivation) through
􀂾 Alternative farming systems.
􀂾Reclamation of wastelands.
• Land Development – terracing, bunding,
and Reclamation of cultivable land.
• Streambank Erosion Control of cultivated
and cultivable lands.
• Water Harvesting to harness rainwater and
surface runoff
• Water Conservation and Distribution by
impounding water of streams and rivulets
• Afforestation of barren hillocks or degraded

• Agro-forestry by growing tree species

compatible with agricultural crops in
agricultural land.
• Horticulture/Plantation Crops Development
by growing of crops.
• Reclamation/Revitalization of Traditional
Water harvesting structures
 Choice & Design of S & W
Conservation measures depend on :
Soil

Land Slope
Rainfall

Wind Characteristic of the

Area
Measures adopted are classified as

Agronomical

Biological&
Engineering Measures
 Agronomical Measures:
Wind Erosion Control Measures :

 Vegetative Cover
 Strip Copping

 Stubble Mulching

 Tillage Practices

 Sand Dune Stabilization

 Windbreaks & Shelterbelts

 Water Erosion Control Measures

 Contour Farming
 Strip Cropping
 Conservation Cropping System
 Mulching & Crop Residue
Management
 Vegetative Barriers/Live Bunds
 Ridges & Furrows/Dead Furrows
 Land Smoothing
 Engineering Measures:

 Contour/Graded Bunds
 Stone Wall Terrace

 Waterways with Vegetative

Cover
 Gully Plugging
Various types
of bunds
Bunds & Gullies
 Questions to consider
The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) focused on the
following questions:

What factors influencing agriculture, land resources, water

resources, and biodiversity in the United States are sensitive to
climate and climate change?

How could changes in climate exacerbate or ameliorate stresses

on agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity?

What are the indicators of these stresses?

Potential Agricultural-Related Impacts from
Climate Change
 Droughts and low water-tables
leading to water stress
 Transport of water to other locations

 Warmer temps leading to more pests

and diseases
 Changing seasons will lead to
different crop growth.
 Soil temperatures will remain warmer
 So what if CO2 goes up?
Carbon dioxide is also the source of carbon for photosynthesis,
and consequently for 99% of all life.

CO2 + H2O + light  O2 + organic C + chemical energy