Water Erosion Control Practices

Mulch
A type of protective covering which is in direct contact with the ground, provides more
protection than canopy cover.

It can vary from straw, to wood chips

Spread evenly onto the ground, mulch helps to reduce water evaporation, control
weeds

It is also significant in protecting soil where vegetation has not had ample time to
establish itself.

By absorbing the destructive forces of raindrops and wind, mulch reduces erosion until
the seedlings mature enough to provide their own protective cover.
Mulch
 Contouring
Entails performing all tillage and planting of crops on or near the same elevation or
"contour.“

It is applicable on relatively short slopes up to about 8 percent steepness with fairly

stable soils.

By planting across the slope, rather than up and down a hill, the contour ridges slow
or stop the downhill flow of water.

Water is held in between these contours, thus reducing water erosion and increasing
soil moisture.

Contouring's impact on annual soil loss rates vary with slope steepness, but typically
it's reduced about one half from up - and - down hill farming when the slope is
between 4 and 7 percent.
 CONTOURING (FA0)
• This simply entails making sure that cropping techniques follow contour
lines.

• Soil roughness (clods and small hollows) must be laid perpendicular to the
slope, so that the eventual runoff sheet is slowed as much as possible.

• The method is effective only on gentle slopes: the P (or erosion control
practices) factor will be 0.5 on slopes between 1 and 8%, 0.6 on 8 to 12%
slopes, 0.8 on 17 to 20% slopes, and close to 1 on slopes steeper than 25%
(Wischmeier and Smith 1978).

• In other words, the steeper the slope, the less soil roughness can hold back
water.
Contouring
Terracing
It is a combination of contouring and land shaping in which earth embankments,
or ridges, are designed to intercept runoff water and channel it to a specific
outlet.

Terraces reduce erosion by decreasing the steepness and length of the hillside
slope and by preventing damage done by surface runoff.

A terrace is an earthen embankment, ridge or ridge-and-channel built across a

slope (on the contour) to intercept runoff water and reduce soil erosion.

Terraces are usually built in a series parallel to one another, with each terrace
collecting excess water from the area above.

Terraces can be designed to channel excess water into grass waterways or direct it
underground to drainage tile and a stable outlet.
There are basically two types of terraces:

• bench terraces
• broad base terraces

The bench terrace, perhaps one of the oldest forms of terraces, is used
to reduce land slope. The broad base terrace, on the other hand, is
used to control and retain surface water on sloping land.
Bench Terrace Construction
Braod-base Terraces
• Broad-based terraces are designed to be entirely farmed; they are
generally suitable for long, uniform gentle slopes of up to 6%
Broad-base Terraces
 Individual Terraces
Individual terraces are constructed to provide a level platform for the growth of an
individual tree.

They are always used in combination with another type of conservation structure,
such as contour ditches, since the small platforms by themselves do not appreciably
control surface water movement.

When planting a hillside with individual terraces, the layout should be in an

equilateral triangular or hexagonal pattern, with the distances varying according to
the variety of tree being planted.

The terraces generally have a diameter of 1 to 1.5 meters and should be throughly
compacted to prevent collapsing.
Individual Terraces
 Vegetated waterways
These are built to protect soil against the erosive forces of concentrated runoff
from sloping lands.

By collecting and concentrating overland flow, waterways absorb the

destructive energy which causes channel erosion and gully formation.

Waterways can have cross sections in parabolic, trapezoidal, or triangular

form, depending on the functional requirements.

Grass linings should be hardy, dense - growing perennials adapted to the

geographical region and soil. The grass should be cut periodically, fertilized as
needed, and not subjected to prolonged traffic by either livestock or vehicles.
Grassed Waterway
 Strip cropping
Strip cropping is a very effective and inexpensive method for controlling
soil erosion.

Strip cropping is a combination of contouring and crop rotation in which

alternate strips of row crops and soil conserving crops (sods) are grown on
the same slope, perpendicular to the wind or water flow.

When soil is detached from the row crops by the forces of wind or water,
the dense soil conserving crops trap some of the soil particles and reduce
wind translation and/or runoff.
Strip cropping
Erosion control structures as related to water
management methods
 Reducing Wind Erosion
• Reduce wind velocity at the soil surface. This is done with windbreaks, crop
residues, cover crops, surface roughness, and stripcropping.

• Trap soil particles. This is accomplished by maintaining crop residues on the

soil surface and/or by ridging or roughening the soil surface — all to trap
moving soil particles.
 Wind Erosion Control
Shelterbelts
Field shelterbelts can provide extra protection against wind erosion no matter
what cropping system is used. They are especially important in dry years
when low crop yields result in insufficient residue cover.

Field shelterbelts reduce the wind velocity for distances up to 30 times the
height of the trees. They also trap snow, increasing soil moisture for increased
crop yields.

To get the maximum benefit from your shelterbelts, you will need to plan the
design, site preparation, and trimming and other maintenance. You will need
to select a species suitable to your area.
Emergency Control Measures
Increasing surface roughness
A rougher surface reduces wind speed at the soil surface so the wind is less
able to move soil particles.

Ripping clay soils: Ripping clay soil using spikes will usually bring up non-
erodible clods to create a rough surface
Soil Moisture
Wind erosion is directly related to how wet or saturated a soil is.

A moist soil is much more stable than a dry one because the water
seems to cement the soil particles together.

Under these circumstances, then, wind would prove to be much more

destructive in dry, arid regions than in wet, moist areas.

Thus, by occasionally wetting the soil, wind erosion can be controlled.

Covering soil with manure or straw
Manure is preferred as a soil cover because it also enhances soil fertility

Depending on the soil, a rate of 30 to 60 tonnes/ha (15 to 30 tons/ac) is

required to protect the soil.

Spread the manure evenly, and do not work it into the ground.

Spreading straw at 2 to 4 tonnes/ha (1 to 2 tons/ac) also protects

eroding soil. The straw should be shredded,.
WIND-BREAKS
Vegetative barriers reduce wind velocity across fields and intercept wind-borne particles.
Cross wind strip cropping laid out perpendicular to the
prevailing wind direction.
Cross wind strip cropping laid out perpendicular to the
prevailing wind direction.