Soil Erosion and Conservation

What is soil erosion Erosion can be defined as removal of soil particles by wind and water movement. Soil erosion is considered one of the main concerns of today's world agriculture. Land abuse, poor management of agricultural land, deforestation, overgrazing, poor management of soil and water resources are all causes of soil erosion. Erosion can lead to soil fertility, water supply, crop yields. Therefore, it affects the productivity of the land and decreases the production of food, feed, fiber and fuel ("Soil Erosion - Cause", 1987).

The soil conservation measures (table) and appropriate planning during planting and planting can minimize soil erosion and expose soil for as short a time as possible (Ministry of Environmental Protection, 2002). Maene et al. (1979) found that the soil loss of plantated forests covered by the pathway decreased by a factor of 3 compared to plantations without covered pathways. In areas with particularly steep slopes, graded fields are a common management method, which has been shown to reduce soil erosion and to convert the loss of soil organic carbon in the landscape (deBlécourt et al., 2014). For the terrace to be effective, it must be carefully planned, properly constructed and properly maintained (Dorren & Rey, 2004). The terrace needs to be adjusted according to local conditions and combined with other soil conservation measures (see table).

Soil erosion is mainly caused by excessive deforestation, overgrazing, heavy rain. The Government of India has taken various measures as a soil conservation measure. Large-scale afforestation, large-scale planting, graded field cultivation in hilly fields, grassland breeding, etc. are effective measures to protect the soil from erosion.

The goal of soil conservation can be achieved by various countermeasures, mainly agricultural measures, soil management and mechanical measures. Agricultural or biological measures use vegetation to minimize erosion. Soil management is to prepare the soil to produce powerful vegetative growth and to improve the soil structure to increase the tolerance to particle separation and soil erosion. In India, research on soil and water conservation began in the 1930s. For this purpose, the Indian government established the soil protection committee in 1953. The chairperson is the Association of Agriculture Ministers, whose members are appointed by various departments and organizations.