Soil

Soil Conservation: Methods and Practices Explained

Published:

December 5, 2024

Key Takeaways:

Soil conservation involves a combination of methods for preserving the soil, protecting it from degradation and maintaining or improving its fertility.
The overuse of chemical fertilizers, contamination, poor irrigation practices, overgrazing, and other factors contribute to soil degradation.
Approaches like no-till farming, terrace farming, and contour farming, as well as thought-out crop rotation plans and windbreaks, can improve soil health and sustainability.

The world's human population is steadily increasing. There are already over 8 billion people, and it is expected to hit 10+ billion by the end of the century. That's going to put heavy burdens on the world's farmers to produce enough food to feed everyone, but soil degradation and erosion are creating new challenges.

Simply put, many of our current farming methods — as well as other social, economic, and technological factors — are contributing to the decreasing availability and health of soil. Without healthy, nutrient-rich ground, we will see reduced yields, smaller crops, and lowered profits. That is why farmers focus on embracing better soil conservation practices to protect their fields and prepare for the days ahead when people need more and more food.

In this article, we'll be looking at the causes of soil degradation, as well as discussing better ways to conserve soil and protect it for future generations.

Causes of Soil Degradation

Soil degradation is a blanket term that covers several different ways that soil can become less suited for growing crops. The underlying causes for these issues are almost too numerous to list, but some of the most commonly cited ones include:

Overuse of chemical fertilizers, which can seriously damage soil, acidifying it while killing off the microbiome within the topsoil.
Monocropping without proper crop rotation makes it harder to replenish necessary soil nutrients.
Slash-and-burn farming quickly depletes nutrients without allowing the soil to recover.
Poor irrigation causes nutrient-rich topsoil to be washed away by irrigation or rain.
Overgrazing, which reduces vegetation coverage and compacts the ground.
Chemical soil contamination from industry, pollution, runoff, etc.
Urban and industrial activity, which tends to lead to deforestation and/or desertification, especially when global climate change is actively doing the same.

In short, there are numerous threats to the ground we need for our crops. Soil protection techniques should be a major concern for farms of all sizes; utilizing better conservation methods can help ensure the land remains fertile for decades — or centuries — to come.

Better Soil Conservation Practices

No single soil protection technique is going to be a magic bullet, and every farm will have its own unique situation. Nevertheless, these are soil preservation methods that have been shown to work and should be considered within the context of the farm's needs.

No-Till Farming

As the name suggests, no-till farming means planting with a bare minimum of disruption to the soil. Tilling churns up the soil, spreading out nutrients that should be concentrated in the topsoil. In turn, this disrupts soil ecosystems, while encouraging runoff and erosion. All this contributes to soil degradation.

In contrast, no-till methods preserve the soil, increasing its nutritive value while maintaining its microbiome. No-till farming can even save you money since it reduces reliance on additional equipment — like tillers — in the planting process.

Terrace Farming

In hilly areas, terrace farming can greatly increase available land. In short, the ground is reshaped into a stair-stepped series of flat terraces, which are then used for planting. This setup greatly reduces erosion down the hillside, as each terrace helps capture any water or soil that runs off.

However, the terraces do need to be actively maintained, which can add to ongoing costs. Otherwise, they may begin to do more harm than good over time.

Contour Farming

In contrast to terrace farming, contour farming takes hilly areas and plants crops in rows that conform to the contour of the surface. This can also help capture falling soil and water, as it comes down the hillside.

Contour farming can be more sustainable in the long term than terrace farming, but is more difficult to set up and utilize. Crops and planting must be carefully planned to prevent seeds or young crops from washing away in rain, unlike the stable flat surfaces of terrace farming.

Crop Rotation

Our ancestors practiced crop rotation and saw the benefits from it year after year. The practice needs to be more common in the modern world as well. Smart crop rotation can replenish nutrients in soil naturally, greatly reducing the need for external fertilizers.

As an easy example, legumes can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and ultimately add it to the soil. So, alternating between nitrogen-hungry crops like wheat and legumes such as soybeans can reduce your reliance on fertilizer.

Windbreaks and Other Natural Features

Much soil erosion can be avoided through the use of natural features to affect the flow of air and water through the farm. Windbreaks are an obvious example — a row of trees on the windward side of a farm can drastically reduce high winds as well as heavy rain or snow, protecting soil and the crops in it. Or, if runoff is an issue, building up mounds of soil in lines can help hold water in place.

When you have questions, we'll help you find the answers you need to take control of your fields and the harvest you care about. Contact Cropler to discover more about our products and the ways we help you proactively protect your operations from the effects of crop diseases. Learn more

Advancements in Soil Conservation

Modern technology is also working to provide new tools for farmers to improve productivity and the long-term sustainability of their farms.

Remote Monitoring

One of the most useful new tools is readily available and affordable for farms: remote monitoring systems. For example, weatherproofed agricultural cameras can monitor crops 24/7 and soil monitors can keep track of moisture levels over time. The data is then sent to an online dashboard which can be accessed from anywhere with minimal effort.

Such ongoing monitoring can help prevent harmful diseases by spotting them early on, optimize irrigation and the use of fertilizers, and save scouting time significantly. Responsible use of these tools will also help enhance operations, focusing on reducing soil erosion and degradation.

AI

Artificial Intelligence in agriculture isn't actually intelligent — but it's very good at taking in large amounts of data and deriving statistical predictions from the numbers. In addition, it can monitor systems across a farm and send alerts whenever anything seems to be wrong, acting as your all-day-every-day field watchman.

AI systems can potentially prevent water waste, automatically add fertilizer at optimized levels, or even track soil health over time. Although complex AI systems and monitors are expensive to implement, some solutions like Cropler offer AI-based monitoring systems at more affordable prices.Increased

Scientific Attention

It's also worth noting that research science is paying increased attention to issues in farming. Ecological scientists know better than most how fragile our planet's ecosystem can be. They are constantly looking into new techniques as well as exploring the pros and cons of ancient soil preservation methods.

A farmer who wants to stay ahead of soil degradation may want to start following the scientific journals, keeping an eye out for new ideas.

The Best Time to Embrace Soil Protection Is Right Now

The dangers of soil degradation and erosion are not hypothetical — they are very real, and they're harming farms around the world. As demand for food increases, farms will need to increasingly adopt smarter, future-focused strategies for meeting the world's needs while keeping their own farms viable in the long term.

Cropler can help! Our smart crop monitoring systems can remotely record your crops' health and status while sending all the information to an easy-to-use dashboard for analysis. Protect your crops from disease, while reducing water and fertilizer usage, at an affordable price.