Soil Conservation

Soil Conservation in India the most important measure taken to check the ravages of soil erosion in the nation. Land and water are natural resources that are necessary for the existence of life and are the two unpredictable factors for which soil management has become most essential. Soil Conservation has become an essential step to conserve the soil, which is getting eroded with time. Land provides food, fuel, fodder and shelter to the mankind besides supporting secondary and other economic life supporting system. However there has been an incessant exhaustion of land resources. As a result the quality of land is deteriorating with passing decades due soil erosion. Soil Conservation is very important in India because, it takes nature almost 600 -1000 years to build 2.5 cm of topsoil but this very topsoil can get displaced in a year due to misuse, as a result it is becoming the harmful single factor in the deterioration of productive land. In a survey, it has been reported that 6000 million tones of productive soil is lost every year from about 80 million hectare of cultivated land in India. It has also been proved that soil lost from unprotected land is about 120 tones every year and may go as high as 300 tones annually. Thus, apart from weakening of fertile soil, erosion results in the loss of plant nutrients siltation of reservoirs and riverbeds thereby harmfully affecting irrigation and power potential; causing floods in plain and valley which damage crops, habitation, animals, communication and so on. But most of all it adversely affects agricultural production, forest production and availability of water both for irrigation purpose and drinking, other than bringing about a disturbance in the soil and water balance.

Regions where soil conservation is of utmost significance

Soil Conservation is of great importance in the widespread regions of low and uncertain rainfall, in the Indian states of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Scanty, unevenly distributed and highly erosive rains, surging topography, and high wind velocity adds to the soil erosion. Generally shallow soils are seen in these areas. The period of heavy rainfall from August to October is the period of the heaviest erosion in these regions. Wind erosion has been acutely responsible for destroying the precious topsoil in many Indian states. An extreme example of sand movement from the coast is to be seen in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat where the onceflourishing ports are now covered with advancing sand dunes. Soil Conservation is especially important in rural India, where the erosion of the cultivated fields, ignored pastures and wastelands, considerable roadside erosion to a great extent takes place owing to the defective highway engineering. Defective drainage and water logging harm fertile areas and make them unfit for cultivation every year and indirectly increase the erosion hazards. Soil conservation in rural area in its widest sense includes not only control over erosion but all those measures like improvement of soil defects, application of manures and fertilisers, proper crop rotations, irrigation, drainage etc. In this sense, soil conservation is very much associated to the improvement of land use in general. Large areas in all parts of the country have been rendered useless as a result of soil erosion and areas which suffer from moderate or slight erosion and whose productivity is reduced as a result of soil losses are very much larger still.

Methods of Soil Conservation

Soil Conservation refers to retain extensive vegetation on the soil. Vegetation is the protective cover against the forces of wind and water, which protects the soil from being washed or blown away and preserving the physical and hydrographic balance of nature. Forests, for instance, provide the most effective protection against erosion on hill slopes. They break the force of run-off by impeding the flow of rainwater down the slopes and by absorbing large quantities of it in their dense mat of undergrowth. This absorbed water, flows away slowly over a period of time; a large part goes into the soil, flows under-grounds, feeds springs and streams and is available for utilisation in the foothills and plains. Few types of Soil Conservation strategies are as follows
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Planting trees: This is one of the types of soil conservation as roots of trees can firmly hold the soil and also as in the taller trees the roots spreads to the deeper layers of soil and helps in the prevention of soil erosion. Soil which is always under the vegetative cover has very less chances of getting eroded. Terracing: Terracing is one of the prominent methods that is followed for soil conservation. A terrace is a nothing but a leveled section of a hilly area which is used for cultivation. Due to its unique structure, it prevents the runoff of water from the surface rapidly. Terracing also gives a stepped appearance to the land and slows down the easy washing out of the surface soil. Dry stonewalling is one among the terracing methods, in which stones are placed without using any mortar for binding. No-till farming: Preparation of soil for the purpose of farming by the process called ploughing is known as tiling. No-till farming is the system or method of cultivation in which the soil is disturbed through tillage. Tilling is generally a beneficial process as it helps, for the appropriate mixing of minerals and fertilizers in the soil, shaping it into the form of proper rows, and also preparing the soil surface for sowing. But the extensive tilling can lead to loss of organic matter present in soil, reduces the compactness of soil, and the also leads to tht death of microorganisms in soil. No-till farming helps in prevention soil from these adversities. Contour ploughing: This is one of the types of soil conservation methods in which ploughing for farming is done across the contour lines of a slope so that it reduces the speed of water runoff. Contour ploughing prevents percolation of water into the soil and easy washing away of soil along the slope. Crop rotation: Continuous cultivation of the same type of crop for long periods leads to the imbalance in the fertility of the soil. To prevent this adverse effect, crop rotation can be practiced in which, a series of dissimilar crops are cultivated sequentially. Crop rotation also helps to improve soil structure and fertility. Soil pH: The contamination of soil by basic or acidic pollutants from the environment and acid rain alters the optimum pH of the soil. Soil pH affects the uptake and availability of nutrients in soil and growth of living organisms. Prevention of contimination of soil helps in conservation of soil. Soil organisms: Presence of soil organisms like earthworms (commonly known as "farmers friend) and others soil microbes which increases the soil fertility can be increased or promoted for soil conservation.

Stakeholders in Soil Conservation

Soil conservation work has to be mainly done by the farmers, proper understanding on their part of the nature of the erosion problem, and their active participation in soil conservation programmes are essential for the success of such programmes. Improvements in farming practices depend wholly upon the farmers. Convincing them of the need for such improvements and demonstrating the correct methods of adopting them is very important. Education for soil conservation, publicity and demonstration aimed at creating awareness among the general public and especially among the farmers the causes and effects of soil erosion and ways to control it, is a very important part of soil conservation programmes. Formation of associations of farmers for soil conservation work has also been proposed in order to provide a suitable medium through which soil conservation measures can be taken on a cooperative basis at the village level.

Soil Conservation Efforts Currently Underway

Steps for conservation of soil have been taken for the past few decades in states like Punjab (afforestation activities in the Sivalik Hills) and Mumbai (binding and terracing work in the Deccan area). More recently, soil conservation work has been initiated in several other States also. But there has been no countrywide effort at an accelerated rate so far, and even in states where the work has been going on, this has been on a very limited scale. Land Utilisation and Soil Conservation Board control the programmes for soil conservation and improvement of land use. These programmes are based on an assessment of the erosion problem in the state after a rapid survey of the land investigation. A sum of around Rs.2 Crores has been provided by the Central Government for soil conservation work in India. Soil Conservation Society of India is devoted to the cause of development and conservation of the soil, water and associated resources of plants and animals since foundation. It is an organisation of scientists and professionals where membership is open to anyone who assures to work for the wise use of the precious and limited soil resource in India.

References http://www.tutorvista.com/biology/types-of-soil-conservation http://www.indianetzone.com/41/soil_conservation_india.htm http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_n12_v40/ai_13296886/pg_2/?tag=content;col1