Presentation-2-Soil-Conservation

SOIL CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT
Overview of Soil Conservation and
Management
 Soil conservation is the management of soil to
prevent its destruction.
 Soil can be conserved through contour plowing,
conservation plowing, and crop rotation.
 In contour plowing, farmers plow their fields along
curves of a slope. This helps the runoff of excess
rainfall and prevents it from washing away the soil.
 In conservation plowing, farmers disturb the soil
and its plant cover as little as possible.
Soil (profile) development
• Soil formation and development
S/s = f (cl, o, r, p, t…)
where: S = new soil formed (profile)
s = soil properties
cl = climate (rainfall, temp, RH)
o = organism (biota)
r = relief (topography, altitude, aspect)
t = time
Soil erosion (soil loss)
• Erosion – the removal of material at the
earth’s surface (either geological or
accelerated-caused by man) by gravity, water
or wind and their transport and deposition to
other places.
• Processes involved:
Detachment (removal), transport, deposition
THE UNIVERSAL SOIL LOSS EQUATION
(The Wischmeier & Smith Model, 1962)
A / E = R.K.L.S.C.P
where: A or E = annual soil loss
(tons/acre/year)/kgm-2yr-1
L = 1 for a slope length of 72.5 feet long
or 22.5 m
S= 1 at 9% gradient or 5o
C = 1 for a bare cultivated fallow
P = 1 when plowed up and down the steepest
slope
The USLE contd:
R = rainfall erosivity factor

K = soil erodibility factor
L = length of the slope factor
S = slope gradient factor
C = crop management factor
P = conservation practice factor
Rainfall characteristics
• Mass
• Shape
• Intensity
• Size
• Velocity
• Angle of Approach
• Size distribution
• Kinetic Energy
Rate of Erosion, Er
Er = f (SSPPRRW)
Where: S = Soil
S = Slope
P = Plant cover
P = Presence/absence of soil conservation
measures
R = Rainfall
R = Runoff
W = Wind
The Basic Soil Loss Equation
A=RxK
Erosivity – the ability of the rain to

cause erosion
Erodibilty - the ability of the soil to
resist erosion
Annual soil loss must not exceed the
rate at which soil can regenerate.
Rainfall erosivity factor, R
The best correlation of soil erosion with

rainfall data is when using EI30, the product
of kinetic energy and its intensity.
E = 0.5 mv2
I30 = maximum 30-minute intensity
= intensity in inches/hr for the 30
minute period of greatest intensity
Factors affecting rainfall erosivity
• Drop size – the bigger the size of rain, the

more erosive it is
• Altitude – the higher the origin of the rain,
the greater the impact
• Duration – the longer the rainfall event, the
more soil loss
• Intensity – the higher the rain intensity, the
more soil loss
Soil erodibility factor, K
• Texture – relative proportions of sand, silt and
clay; silt and loam are the most erodible
• OM content – higher OM, less erodible
because of stable aggregates
• Structure – single-grain, granular and crumb
are more erodible than massive, prism-like or
block-like
• Infiltration capacity – maximum sustained rate
at which soil can absorb water
• Shear strength – measure of the soils
cohesiveness and resistance
Slope factor, LS (combined-LS factor) or (single-factor L and S)
• Slope length
In a bare soil/grassland, this is measured by
taking the whole length of the lower and
upper end.
When land has mechanical protection works,
the effective slope length is the distance
between the protection works.
Slope length contd:
L
L
Slope gradient, S
• Slope is the degree of inclination of an area or
terrain expressed in degree or per cent.
Crop management factor, C
(most complicated factor)
• It is the ratio of soil loss from land cropped

under specified conditions to the
corresponding loss from bare tilled fallows.
• To obtain C, crop year is divided into 5 periods
as follows: F – fallow period, P1 – seedling
stage, P2 – crop establishment, P3- growing
and maturity and P4 – residue and stuble.
Each period has C value and multiplied by the
annual rainfall erosivity.
C factor contd:
• C x R = Cf rf + C1 f1 + C2 f2 + C3 f3 + …
• This method is more sensitive than simply
using annual C and R values.
• For instance a season of high erosivity may

produce little erosion if it coincides with a
mature crop with good ground cover.
Conservation practice factor, P
• It is the ratio by which erosion is reduced
by conservation measures from the
worst possible case (P=1) in which soil is
plowed up and down the steepest slope.
P factor contd:
Velocity increases with slope length

UNDERSTANDING SOIL EROSION
• To effect an erosion, the soil must be detached,

then transported and finally deposited
(mechanics of erosion).
• Erosion starts when falling raindrops splash
onto the soil. The splashed particles move
more downhill than uphill. The splash breaks
up the soil aggregates into smaller particles and
are easily washed. The finer particles fill the
pore spaces and clogged them off and increase
runoff.
Runoff occurrence
• If rainfall intensity (RI) is less than the
infiltration capacity (IC) of the soil, no surface
runoff will occur, thus, RI=IC.
• If the RI exceeds IC, the infiltration rate (IR)

will equal the IC and the excess rainfall will
form surface runoff.
Water erosion process and its route
• During rainstorm, part of the water falls

directly on the land, either because there is
no vegetation or part is intercepted by the
canopy from where it is either returned to
the atmosphere through evaporation or
find its way to the stem through stemflow.
The action of direct through fall and leaf
drip produces rain splash erosion.
Water erosion process and its route
• The rainfall which reaches the ground maybe

stored in small depressions or hollows on the
surface or it may infiltrate the soil,
contributing either to soil moisture storage,
or by percolating deeper to groundwater.
When the soil s unable to take more water,
the excess will move laterally down slope
within the soil or at the surface resulting to
overland flow (runoff) or by rills or gullies.
Types of erosion
• Splash erosion – the effect of raindrops

dislodging soil particles
• Rill erosion – soil loss in a small but visible
tracks or traces, like small gullies resulting
from runoff.
• Gully erosion – loss of soil in larger, often
impassible trenches or ditches, resulting
from runoff.
Assessment of Erosion Hazard
• Erosion Intensity using Indices
1) Drainage density (Dd) = L/A
Where: L = total length of streams in km
A = area of watershed in sq. km.
2) Drainage Texture = number of first-order

streams per unit area equivalent to the
density of source points
Field erosion measurement
• Runoff plots – collecting soil loss in the field

using established plots (22m long, 1.8m wide
and 15-20cm height) with rain gauge,
collecting/sediment tank and an H-flume or
automatic discharge counter
• Erosion pins – pins are pointed at the ground
surface and depth of soil lost is measured
from the paint mark
Measurement of erosion in the lab
• Rainfall simulator – a structure designed to
produce a storm of known energy and drop-
size characteristics which can be repeated on
demand.
• Use of Al or Plexiglass Flume – a device which
measures 4m long and 0.4m wide fed by
water through pumping into a cylinder with 10
openings
Conservation and mgt. strategies
• Agronomic or Biological Measures
1. Mulching
2. Cover cropping
3. Multiple cropping
4. Crop rotation
5. Strip cropping
6. High-density planting
Mulching
-the process of covering the topsoil with plant
material such as leaves, grass and crop
residues.
Benefits:
1.a.1. A mulch enhances the activity of soil
organisms such as earthworms.
COVER CROPPING
• Green manures, cover crops and mulching are related to each

other and the difference between them can not be clearly
distinguished.
• With mulching and cover crops emphasis is on protecting the
soil, the main aim of green manures is to provide nutrients to
subsequent crops and to increase soil fertility through
addition of organic matter.
• Cover crops have similar benefits as green manure, and in
many cases the same crops and management methods are
used.
MULTIPLE CROPPING
• the aim of multiple cropping is to
increase the production from the land
whilst providing protection of the soil
from erosion.
• The method involves either sequential
cropping, growing two or more crops a
year in a sequence, or intercropping,
growing two or more crops at the same
time on the same piece of land.
• On sloping, intercropping may be done
in strips (strip cropping).
STRIP CROPPING
• is best suited to well- drained soils
but maybe practiced also to soils
which are moderately well drained,
but crops to be grown must be well
selected.
• With strip- cropping, row crops and
protection effective crops are grown
alternating strips aligned in the
contour or perpendicular to the wind.
HIGH DENSITY PLANTING
• is used to obtain the same effect for

a monoculture that multiple cropping
achieves with two or more crops.
• In the Cordilleras, farmers are
constrained to sow enough seeds in
their “kaingin” due to financial
incapability.
Conservation and mgt. strategies
• Mechanical or Engineering Measures
1. Countouring
2. Terracing
3. Waterways
4. Use of stabilization structures
e.g. brush/log dams, velocity reducer, rip-raps
or loose rock dams
Soil Conservation
Irrigated Forest Plantation
Mulching
Cover Cropping
Multiple Cropping
Strip Cropping

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SOIL CONSERVATION AND

R = rainfall erosivity factor

Erosivity – the ability of the rain to

The best correlation of soil erosion with

• Drop size – the bigger the size of rain, the

• It is the ratio of soil loss from land cropped

• For instance a season of high erosivity may

Velocity increases with slope length

• To effect an erosion, the soil must be detached,

• If the RI exceeds IC, the infiltration rate (IR)

• During rainstorm, part of the water falls

• The rainfall which reaches the ground maybe

• Splash erosion – the effect of raindrops

2) Drainage Texture = number of first-order

• Runoff plots – collecting soil loss in the field

• Green manures, cover crops and mulching are related to each

• is used to obtain the same effect for

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