[Conservation tillage systems in North America and their significance for China].

PubMed

Yang, Xueming; Zhang, Xiaoping; Fang, Huajun; Liang, Aizhen; Qi, Xiaoning; Wang, Yang

2004-02-01

Soil degradation through erosion and desertification reduces soil productivity, and is a serious problem in agricultural production of China. To avert our arable land from further degradation, soil management must be shifted from degrading tillage to conservation practices. Over viewing the technology used in the 20th century for controlling soil degradation from erosion, conservation tillage developed in the United States and adopted in South America and Africa is one of the most successful measures to overcome soil degradation problems. This paper reviewed the historical development and the current situation of conservation tillage systems used in North and South America, with special reference to their effects on soil erosion control and soil quality. The increasing adoption of conservation tillage systems in North and South America and Africa followed an enhanced awareness of the increasing risk of soil erosion and the high cost of fuel associated with conventional tillage. Many crucial points for successfully adopting conservation tillage systems were emphasized, such as equipment/tool development and chemical weed control. Adopting conservation tillage could provide China with low-priced means of reducing soil degradation and improving soil and water quality.

26 CFR 1.175-2 - Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Definition of soil and water conservation... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-2 Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures. (a) Expenditures... for the purpose of soil or water conservation in respect of land used in farming, or for the...

26 CFR 1.175-2 - Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Definition of soil and water conservation... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-2 Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures. (a) Expenditures... for the purpose of soil or water conservation in respect of land used in farming, or for the...

26 CFR 1.175-2 - Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Definition of soil and water conservation... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-2 Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures. (a) Expenditures... for the purpose of soil or water conservation in respect of land used in farming, or for the...

26 CFR 1.175-2 - Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Definition of soil and water conservation... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-2 Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures. (a) Expenditures... for the purpose of soil or water conservation in respect of land used in farming, or for the...

7 CFR 1469.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... Soil quality means resource concerns and/or opportunities related to depletion of soil organic matter..., or Tribal law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water...,” “soil conservation district,” “soil and water conservation district,” “resource conservation district...

7 CFR 1469.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... Soil quality means resource concerns and/or opportunities related to depletion of soil organic matter..., or Tribal law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water...,” “soil conservation district,” “soil and water conservation district,” “resource conservation district...

7 CFR 1469.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Soil quality means resource concerns and/or opportunities related to depletion of soil organic matter..., or Tribal law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water...,” “soil conservation district,” “soil and water conservation district,” “resource conservation district...

7 CFR 1465.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water conservation program. Such district or unit of government may be referred to as a “conservation district,” “soil conservation district,” “soil and water conservation district,” “resource conservation district,” “natural resource...

26 CFR 1.175-1 - Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Soil and water conservation expenditures; in... (continued) § 1.175-1 Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general. Under section 175, a farmer may deduct his soil or water conservation expenditures which do not give rise to a deduction for depreciation...

26 CFR 1.175-1 - Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Soil and water conservation expenditures; in... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-1 Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general. Under section 175, a farmer may deduct his soil or water conservation expenditures which do not give rise to a deduction for...

26 CFR 1.175-1 - Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Soil and water conservation expenditures; in... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-1 Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general. Under section 175, a farmer may deduct his soil or water conservation expenditures which do not give rise to a deduction for...

26 CFR 1.175-1 - Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Soil and water conservation expenditures; in... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-1 Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general. Under section 175, a farmer may deduct his soil or water conservation expenditures which do not give rise to a deduction for...

26 CFR 1.175-1 - Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Soil and water conservation expenditures; in... Corporations (continued) § 1.175-1 Soil and water conservation expenditures; in general. Under section 175, a farmer may deduct his soil or water conservation expenditures which do not give rise to a deduction for...

26 CFR 1.175-2 - Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Definition of soil and water conservation... (continued) § 1.175-2 Definition of soil and water conservation expenditures. (a) Expenditures treated as a... of soil or water conservation in respect of land used in farming, or for the prevention of erosion of...

Soil Conservation Unit for the Advanced Crop Production and Marketing Course. Student Reference. AGDEX 570.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Bob R.; And Others

This student reference booklet is designed to accompany lessons outlined in the companion instructor's guide on soil conservation. The soil conservation unit builds on competencies gained in Agricultural Science I and II. Informative material is provided for these eight lessons: benefits of conservation, land utilization, how soils are eroded,…

78 FR 48035 - Conservation Reserve Program, Re-Enrollment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-07

... purpose of CRP is to cost- effectively assist producers in conserving and improving soil, water, wildlife... producers in conserving and improving soil, water, wildlife, and other natural resources by converting..., Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Soil conservation, Technical assistance, Water resources, Wildlife...

The contribution of the European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC) to scientific knowledge, education and sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dazzi, Carmelo; Fullen, Michael A.; Costantini, Edoardo A. C.; Theocharopoulos, Sid; Rickson, Jane; Kasparinskis, Raimonds; Lo Papa, Giuseppe; Peres, Guenola; Sholten, Thomas; Kertész, Adam; Vasenev, Ivan; Dumitru, Mihail; Cornelis, Wim; Rubio, José L.

2017-04-01

Soil is an integral component of the global environmental system that supports the quality and diversity of terrestrial life on Earth. Therefore, it is vital to consider the processes and impacts of soil degradation on society, especially on the provision of environmental goods and services, including food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Scientific societies devoted to Soil Science play significant roles in promoting soil security by advancing scientific knowledge, education and environmental sustainability. The European Society for Soil Conservation (ESSC) was founded in Ghent (Belgium) on 4 November 1988 by a group of 23 researchers from several European countries. It is an interdisciplinary, non-political association with over 500 members in 56 countries. The ESSC produces and distributes a hardcopy Newsletter twice a year and maintains both a website and Facebook page: http://www.soilconservation.eu/ https://www.facebook.com/European-Society-for-Soil-Conservation-ESSC-100528363448094/ The ESSC aims to: • Support research on soil degradation, soil protection and soil and water conservation. • Provide a network for the exchange of knowledge about soil degradation processes and soil conservation research and practises. • Produce publications on major issues relating to soil degradation and soil and water conservation. • Advise regulators and policy-makers on soil issues, especially soil degradation, protection and conservation. The ESSC held its First International Congress in Silsoe (UK) in 1992. Further International Congresses were held in Munich (1996), Valencia (2000), Budapest (2004), Palermo (2007), Thessaloniki (2011) and Moscow (2015). The Eighth International Congress will be held in Lleida (Spain) in June 2017: http://www.consowalleida2017.com/ Interspersed between these international congresses, the ESSC organizes annual international conferences on specific topics. These include Imola, Italy (Biogeochemical Processes at Air-Soil-Water Interfaces and Environmental Protection) in 2015 and Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Soil: Our Common Future) in 2016. Since its inception, the Society has made significant advances, including developing a strong and growing global network of soil scholars. The ESSC honours major individual contributions to soil conservation through two awards made every four years at its Congresses, namely: • The 'Gerold Richter Award,' awarded to a person who has, over their career, made significant and internationally recognized contributions to the investigation and/or promotion of soil conservation in Europe. • The 'Young Person's Award' is presented to a member of the Society, aged 40 years or less, who over the previous four years has made important contributions to soil conservation in Europe through research, practise, policy-making or another relevant activity. The ESSC provides grants to young members to attend its conferences and promotes the organization of scientific meetings, soil conservation research, and co-operation between numerous institutions and individuals on soil conservation initiatives. The societal challenges that can be addressed through better soil protection, as well as developing new knowledge and scientific approaches to soil protection and sustainable management, mean the ESSC embraces the on-going development, application, review and criticism of highly innovative scientific methods for soil conservation. It is in this context that the ESSC analyses and publicizes the roles and functions of soil in natural and human-modified systems and the functional optimization of soils to ensure sustainable environmental protection.

Soil and Water Conservation for a Better America. A Framework Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Through this framework plan, the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) takes a look ahead to its soil and water conservation mission, a look at its direction and thrust in helping create a desirable America in the decades ahead. The plan attempts to define the nature of soil and water conservation efforts, to put them in perspective, and to present a…

[Impact of rural land market on farm household's behavior of soil & water conservation and its regional difference: A case study of Xingguo, Shangrao, and Yujiang County in Jiangxi province ecologically vulnerable districts].

PubMed

Zhong, Tai-Yang; Huang, Xian-jin

2006-02-01

The paper analyzed the farm households' decision-making progress of soil & water conservation and its two-stage conceptual model. It also discussed the impacts of rural land market on the farm households' behavior of soil & water conservation. Given that, the article established models for the relations between the land market and soil & water conservation, and the models' parameters were estimated with Heckman's two-stage approach by using the farm household questionnaires in Xingguo, Shangrao and Yujiang counties of Jiangxi province. The paper analyzed the impact o f rural land market on farm household's behavior of soil & water conservation and its regional difference with the result of model estimation. The results show that the perception of soil & water loss and the tax & fee on the farm land have significant influence upon the soil and water conservation from the view of the population; however, because of different social and economic condition, and soil & water loss, there are differences of the influence among the three sample counties. These differences go as follows in detail: In Xingguo County, the rent-in land area and its cost have remarkable effect on the farm households' soil & water conservation behavior; In Yujiang County, the rent-in land area, rent-in cost and rent-out land area remarkably influence the farm households' behavior of soil and water conservation, with the influence of the rent-in land area being greater than Xingguo County; In Shangrao County, only rent-out land area has significant influence on the behaviors of soil & water conservation; In all samples, Xingguo County and Yujiang County samples, the rent-out income has no significant influence on the farm household's decision-making behavior soil and water conservation. Finally, the paper put forward some suggestions on how to bring the soil & water loss under control and use land resource in sustainable ways.

Agricultural implications of providing soil-based constraints on urban expansion: Land use forecasts to 2050.

PubMed

Smidt, Samuel J; Tayyebi, Amin; Kendall, Anthony D; Pijanowski, Bryan C; Hyndman, David W

2018-07-01

Urbanization onto adjacent farmlands directly reduces the agricultural area available to meet the resource needs of a growing society. Soil conservation is a common objective in urban planning, but little focus has been placed on targeting soil value as a metric for conservation. This study assigns commodity and water storage values to the agricultural soils across all of the watersheds in Michigan's Lower Peninsula to evaluate how cities might respond to a soil conservation-based urbanization strategy. Land Transformation Model (LTM) simulations representing both traditional and soil conservation-based urbanization, are used to forecast urban area growth from 2010 to 2050 at five year intervals. The expansion of urban areas onto adjacent farmland is then evaluated to quantify the conservation effects of soil-based development. Results indicate that a soil-based protection strategy significantly conserves total farmland, especially more fertile soils within each soil type. In terms of revenue, ∼$88 million (in current dollars) would be conserved in 2050 using soil-based constraints, with the projected savings from 2011 to 2050 totaling more than $1.5 billion. Soil-based urbanization also increased urban density for each major metropolitan area. For example, there were 94,640 more acres directly adjacent to urban land by 2050 under traditional development compared to the soil-based urbanization strategy, indicating that urban sprawl was more tightly contained when including soil value as a metric to guide development. This study indicates that implementing a soil-based urbanization strategy would better satisfy future agricultural resource needs than traditional urban planning. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

US Policy approaches for assessing soil health

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is worldwide recognition for a more holistic vision of soil health and tools to guide soil conservation policy, management and restoration. To meet this need, U.S. conservation programs in the US Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the farm bill), including the Conservation Stewardship...

3. VIEW NORTHEAST, SOUTH FRONT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE CLUSTER ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. VIEW NORTHEAST, SOUTH FRONT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE CLUSTER (BUILDING 25) - U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Soil Conservation Service Cluster, 11601 Old Pond Road, Glenn Dale, Prince George's County, MD

Approved Practices in Soil Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Albert B.

This book is written for individuals who wish to apply conservation practices, especially those of soil and water conservation, without technical assistance, to meet one's own conditions, and within his own capability to apply them. To meet these needs, the book includes a discussion and description of soil and water conservation methods for the…

7 CFR 1467.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... State by annual tilling of the soil, including tilling by one-trip planters; or sugarcane planted and... or territorial law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water...,” “soil conservation district,” “soil and water conservation district,” “resource conservation district...

1. VIEW EAST, WEST FRONT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE CLUSTER ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. VIEW EAST, WEST FRONT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE CLUSTER (BUILDINGS 24, 25, 26) - U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Soil Conservation Service Cluster, 11601 Old Pond Road, Glenn Dale, Prince George's County, MD

Watershed prioritization in the upper Han River basin for soil and water conservation in the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (middle route) of China.

PubMed

Wu, Haibing

2018-01-01

Watershed prioritization with the objective of identifying critical areas to undertake soil and water conservation measures was conducted in the upper Han River basin, the water source area of approximately 95,000 km 2 for the middle route of China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. Based on the estimated soil erosion intensity in uplands and clustering analysis of measured nutrient concentrations in rivers, the basin was grouped into very-high-, high-, moderate-, and low-priority regions for water and soil conservation, respectively. The results indicated that soil erosion was primarily controlled by topography, and nutrients in rivers were associated with land use and land cover in uplands. Also, there was large spatial disparity between soil erosion intensity in the uplands and nutrient concentrations in the rivers across the basin. Analysis was then performed to prioritize the basin by the integration of the soil erosion intensity and water quality on a GIS platform in order to identify critical areas for water and soil conservation in the basin. The identified high-priority regions which occupy 5.74% of the drainage areas need immediate attention for soil and water conservation treatments, of which 5.28% is critical for soil erosion prevention and 0.46% for water conservation. Understandings of the basin environment and pollutant loading with spatial explicit are critical to the soil and water resource conservation for the interbasin water transfer project.

Estimating soil erosion risk and evaluating erosion control measures for soil conservation planning at Koga watershed in the highlands of Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molla, Tegegne; Sisheber, Biniam

2017-01-01

Soil erosion is one of the major factors affecting sustainability of agricultural production in Ethiopia. The objective of this paper is to estimate soil erosion using the universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model and to evaluate soil conservation practices in a data-scarce watershed region. For this purpose, soil data, rainfall, erosion control practices, satellite images and topographic maps were collected to determine the RUSLE factors. In addition, measurements of randomly selected soil and water conservation structures were done at three sub-watersheds (Asanat, Debreyakob and Rim). This study was conducted in Koga watershed at upper part of the Blue Nile basin which is affected by high soil erosion rates. The area is characterized by undulating topography caused by intensive agricultural practices with poor soil conservation practices. The soil loss rates were determined and conservation strategies have been evaluated under different slope classes and land uses. The results showed that the watershed is affected by high soil erosion rates (on average 42 t ha-1 yr-1), greater than the maximum tolerable soil loss (18 t ha-1 yr-1). The highest soil loss (456 t ha-1 yr-1) estimated from the upper watershed occurred on cultivated lands of steep slopes. As a result, soil erosion is mainly aggravated by land-use conflicts and topographic factors and the rugged topographic land forms of the area. The study also demonstrated that the contribution of existing soil conservation structures to erosion control is very small due to incorrect design and poor management. About 35 % out of the existing structures can reduce soil loss significantly since they were constructed correctly. Most of the existing structures were demolished due to the sediment overload, vulnerability to livestock damage and intense rainfall. Therefore, appropriate and standardized soil and water conservation measures for different erosion-prone land uses and land forms need to be implemented in Koga watershed.

Soil fauna community in the black soil of northeast China under different conservation tillage systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil fauna is an important component in soil ecosystem. Through the soil moisture changes, soil environment is changed under different tillage systems, and then the population of soil fauna also is changed. This study tested whether conservation tillage or conventional tillage (CT) of black soil fie...

Sustainability of three modified soil conservation methods in agriculture area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiawan, M. A.; Sara, F. H.; Christanto, N.; Sartohadi, J.; Samodra, G.; Widicahyono, A.; Ardiana, N.; Widiyati, C. N.; Astuti, E. M.; Martha, G. K.; Malik, R. F.; Sambodo, A. P.; Rokhmaningtyas, R. P.; Swastanto, G. A.; Gomez, C.

2018-04-01

Recent innovations in soil conservation methods do not present any breakthrough. Providing more attractive soil conservation methods from the farmer’s perspective is however still of critical importance. Contributing to this soil research gap we attempt to evaluate the sustainable use of three modified conservation methods, namely JALAPA (Jala Sabut Kelapa - geotextile made of coconut fibres), wood sediment trap, and polybag system compared to traditional tillage without conservation method. This research provides both qualitative and quantitative analysis on the performance of each conservation measures. Therefore, in addition to the total sediment yield value and investment cost – as quantitative analysis, we also evaluate qualitatively the indicator of soil loss, installation, maintenance, and the durability of conservation medium. Those criteria define the sustainability use of each conservation method. The results show that JALAPA is the most effective method for controlling soil loss, but it also requires the most expensive cost for installation. However, our finding confirms that geotextile is sensitive to sun heating by which the coconut fibre can become dry and shrink. Wood sediment trap is the cheapest and easiest to install; however it is easily damaged by termite. Polybag method results in the highest productivity, but requires more time during the first installation. In terms of the farmer’s perspective, soil conservation using polybag system was the most accepted technique due to its high benefits; even if it is less effective at reducing soil loss compared to JALAPA.

Environmental Education: A Guide to Teaching Conservation in Texas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Education Agency, Austin. Div. of Curriculum Development.

This document describes Texas' natural resources and suggests ways to correlate conservation instruction into the existing curriculum. Resources discussed include: 1) soil (soil formation; properties of soils; soil survey, soil use in agriculture; soils and the state economy, land value; specific soil resources); 2) air (principal pollutants and…

7 CFR 654.30 - Responsibility for operation and maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... soil and water conservation measures installed with NRCS assistance provided through soil, water, and other conservation districts. ... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Conservation...

7 CFR 654.30 - Responsibility for operation and maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... soil and water conservation measures installed with NRCS assistance provided through soil, water, and other conservation districts. ... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Conservation...

7 CFR 654.30 - Responsibility for operation and maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... soil and water conservation measures installed with NRCS assistance provided through soil, water, and other conservation districts. ... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Conservation...

7 CFR 654.30 - Responsibility for operation and maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... soil and water conservation measures installed with NRCS assistance provided through soil, water, and other conservation districts. ... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Conservation...

7 CFR 654.30 - Responsibility for operation and maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... soil and water conservation measures installed with NRCS assistance provided through soil, water, and other conservation districts. ... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Conservation...

Teaching Soil and Water Conservation: A Classroom and Field Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Albert B.; Fox, Adrian C.

Compiled in this booklet are 22 activities designed to develop awareness of the importance of conservation and the wise use of soil and moisture on croplands, grasslands, and woodlands. They have been selected by Soil Conservation Service (SCS) personnel and consultants to show that the way we manage our basic natural resources, soil and water,…

Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Programs Miss Full Potential in the Fight against Soil Erosion.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-28

Soil Loss Equation ( USLE ) and Wind Erosion Equation can be used with a reasonable degree of accuracy. It is the intention of ASCS to expand VC/SL to...HD-R37 495 AGRICULTURE’S SOIL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS MISS FULL i/i POTENTIAL IN THE FIGHT.(U) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON DC RESOURCES...GENERAL Report To The Congress OF THE UNITED STATES Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Programs Miss Full Potential In The Fight Against Soil Erosion

7 CFR 761.8 - Loan Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... assumption of indebtedness. (1) Farm Ownership, Downpayment loans, Conservation loans, and Soil and Water... direct Farm Ownership loan, direct Conservation loan, direct Soil and Water loan, guaranteed Farm Ownership loan, guaranteed Conservation loan, and guaranteed Soil and Water loan-$700,000 (for fiscal year...

4. VIEW NORTHWEST, NORTH FRONT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE CLUSTER ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

4. VIEW NORTHWEST, NORTH FRONT OF SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE CLUSTER (BUILDINGS 24, 25, 26); NORTH FRONT OF QUARANTINE HEADHOUSE (BUILDING 27) - U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Soil Conservation Service Cluster, 11601 Old Pond Road, Glenn Dale, Prince George's County, MD

7 CFR 761.8 - Loan Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... assumption of indebtedness. (1) Farm Ownership, Downpayment loans, Conservation loans, and Soil and Water... direct Farm Ownership loan, direct Conservation loan, direct Soil and Water loan, guaranteed Farm Ownership loan, guaranteed Conservation loan, and guaranteed Soil and Water loan-$700,000 (for fiscal year...

7 CFR 761.8 - Loan Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... assumption of indebtedness. (1) Farm Ownership, Downpayment loans, Conservation loans, and Soil and Water... direct Farm Ownership loan, direct Conservation loan, direct Soil and Water loan, guaranteed Farm Ownership loan, guaranteed Conservation loan, and guaranteed Soil and Water loan-$700,000 (for fiscal year...

7 CFR 761.8 - Loan Limitations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... indebtedness. (1) Farm Ownership, Downpayment loans, Conservation loans, and Soil and Water loans: (i) Direct... Ownership loan, direct Conservation loan, direct Soil and Water loan, guaranteed Farm Ownership loan, guaranteed Conservation loan, and guaranteed Soil and Water loan-$700,000 (for fiscal year 2000 and increased...

Soil carbon and soil respiration in conservation agriculture with vegetables in Siem Reap, Cambodia

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A balance between food production and environmental protection is required to sustainably feed a growing population. The resource saving concept of conservation agriculture aims to achieve this balance through implementing simultaneously three conservation practices; no-till, continuous soil cover, ...

7 CFR 611.10 - Standards, guidelines, and plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b...

7 CFR 611.10 - Standards, guidelines, and plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b...

7 CFR 611.10 - Standards, guidelines, and plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b...

7 CFR 611.10 - Standards, guidelines, and plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b...

7 CFR 611.10 - Standards, guidelines, and plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b...

Soil Tillage Conservation and its Effect on Soil Properties Bioremediation and Sustained Production of Crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, Teodor; Ioana Moraru, Paula; Muresan, Liliana; Andriuca, Valentina; Cojocaru, Olesea

2017-04-01

Soil Tillage Conservation (STC) is considered major components of agricultural technology for soil conservation strategies and part of Sustainable Agriculture (SA). Human action upon soil by tillage determines important morphological, physical-chemical and biological changes, with different intensities and evaluative directions. Nowadays, internationally is unanimous accepted the fact that global climatic changes are the results of human intervention in the bio-geo-chemical water and material cycle, and the sequestration of carbon in soil is considered an important intervention to limit these changes. STC involves reducing the number of tillage's (minimum tillage) to direct sowing (no-tillage) and plant debris remains at the soil surface in the ratio of at least 30%. Plant debris left on the soil surface or superficial incorporated contributes to increased biological activity and is an important source of carbon sequestration. STC restore soil structure and improve overall soil drainage, allowing more rapid infiltration of water into soil. The result is a soil bioremediation, more productive, better protected against wind and water erosion and requires less fuel for preparing the germinative bed. Carbon sequestration in soil is net advantageous, improving the productivity and sustainability. We present the influence of conventional plough tillage system on soil, water and organic matter conservation in comparison with an alternative minimum tillage (paraplow, chisel plow and rotary harrow) and no-tillage system. The application of STC increased the organic matter content 0.8 to 22.1% and water stabile aggregate content from 1.3 to 13.6%, in the 0-30 cm depth, as compared to the conventional system. For the organic matter content and the wet aggregate stability, the statistical analysis of the data showed, increasing positive significance of STC. While the soil fertility and the wet aggregate stability were initially low, the effect of conservation practices on the soil features resulted in a positive impact on the water permeability of the soil. Availability of soil moisture during the crop growth resulted in better plant water status. Subsequent release of conserved soil water regulated proper plant water status, soil structure, and lowered soil penetrometer resistance. Productions obtained at STC did not have significant differences for the wheat and maize crop but were higher for soybean. The advantages of minimum soil tillage systems for Romanian pedo-climatic conditions can be used to improve methods in low producing soils with reduced structural stability on sloped fields, as well as measures of water and soil conservation on the whole agroecosystem. Presently, it is necessary to make a change concerning the concept of conservation practices and to consider a new approach regarding the good agricultural practice. We need to focus on an upper level concerning conservation by focusing on soil quality. Carbon management is necessary for a complexity of matters including soil, water management, field productivity, biological fuel and climatic change. In conclusion a Sustainable Agriculture includes a range of complementary agricultural practices: (i) minimum soil tillage (through a system of reduced tillage or no-tillage) to preserve the structure, fauna and soil organic matter; (ii) permanent soil cover (cover crops, residues and mulches) to protect the soil and help to remove and control weeds; (iii) various combinations and rotations of the crops which stimulate the micro-organisms in the soil and controls pests, weeds and plant diseases. Acknowledgements: This paper was performed under the frame of the Partnership in priority domains - PNII, developed with the support of MEN-UEFISCDI, project no. PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-0015: Expert System for Risk Monitoring in Agriculture and Adaptation of Conservative Agricultural Technologies to Climate Change, and International Cooperation Program - Sub-3.1. Bilateral AGROCEO c. no. 21BM/2016, PN-III-P3-3.1-PM-RO-MD-2016-0034: The comparative evaluation of conventional and conservative tillage systems regarding carbon sequestration and foundation of sustainable agroecosystems.

Soil conservation in the 21st century: why we need smart agricultural intensification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Govers, Gerard; Merckx, Roel; van Wesemael, Bas; Van Oost, Kristof

2017-03-01

Soil erosion severely threatens the soil resource and the sustainability of agriculture. After decades of research, this problem still persists, despite the fact that adequate technical solutions now exist for most situations. This begs the question as to why soil conservation is not more rapidly and more generally implemented. Studies show that the implementation of soil conservation measures depends on a multitude of factors but it is also clear that rapid change in agricultural systems only happens when a clear economic incentive is present for the farmer. Conservation measures are often more or less cost-neutral, which explains why they are often less generally adopted than expected. This needs to be accounted for when developing a strategy on how we may achieve effective soil conservation in the Global South, where agriculture will fundamentally change in the next century. In this paper we argue that smart intensification is a necessary component of such a strategy. Smart intensification will not only allow for soil conservation to be made more economical, but will also allow for significant gains to be made in terms of soil organic carbon storage, water efficiency and biodiversity, while at the same time lowering the overall erosion risk. While smart intensification as such will not lead to adequate soil conservation, it will facilitate it and, at the same time, allow for the farmers of the Global South to be offered a more viable future.

Soil conservation in Central America and Panama: current problems.

PubMed

Popenoe, H

1976-06-01

Soil conservation measures in Central America go back to the Maya civilization, in which terracing was employed. After the Spanish conquest, plowing, livestock raising, and the succession of social and political changes all contributed to accelerate erosion. Through the past few decades, awareness of the need for soil conservation has again increased; El Salvador and Costa Rica began efforts in that direction in 1943. For sometime, the use of machinery and chemical fertilizers has masked the loss of topsoil, but under recent increases in population pressures, soil conservation measures are gaining in importance. Important agents of erosion in the tropics are heavy seasonal rains at high elevations, alternating with long dry seasons; wind erosion; and landslides after saturation of the soil during prolonged rains. Modern machinery often hastens soil removal, as do also overgrazing, deforestation and vertical crop rows. Under the present energy crisis, human labor is becoming again a significant element in crop production, and soil conservation becomes thereby more feasible and more important.

Quantifying the effects of conservation practices on soil, water, and nutrients in the Loess Mesa Ravine Region of the Loess Plateau, China.

PubMed

Xu, Xiang-Zhou; Li, Mei-Juan; Liu, Bin; Kuang, Shang-Fu; Xu, Shi-Guo

2012-05-01

A large number of soil and water conservation programs have been implemented on the Loess Plateau of China since the 1950s. To comprehensively assess the merits and demerits of the conservation practices is of great importance in further supervising the conservation strategy for the Loess Plateau. This study calculates the impact factors of conservation practices on soil, water, and nutrients during the period 1954-2004 in the Nanxiaohegou Catchment, a representative catchment in the Loess Mesa Ravine Region of the Loess Plateau, China. Brief conclusions could be drawn as follows: (1) Soil erosion and nutrient loss had been greatly mitigated through various conservation practices. About half of the total transported water and 94.8 % of the total transported soil and nutrients, had been locally retained in the selected catchment. The soil retained from small watersheds do not only form large-scale fertile farmland but also safeguard the Yellow River against overflow. (2) Check dam was the most appropriate conservation practice on the Loess Plateau. In the selected catchment, more than 90 % of the retained soil and water were accomplished by the dam farmland, although the dam farmland occupied only 2.3 % of the total area of all conservation measures. Retention abilities of the characteristic conservation practices were in the following order: dam farmland > terrace farmland > forest land and grassland. (3) The conservation practices were more powerful in retaining sediment than in reducing runoff from the Loess Plateau, and the negative effects of the conservation practices on reducing water to the Yellow River were relatively slight.

Creative Soil Conservation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Martha

2010-01-01

Take plant lessons outdoors with this engaging and inquiry-based activity in which third-grade students learn how to apply soil conservation methods to growing plants. They also collect data and draw conclusions about the effectiveness of their method of soil conservation. An added benefit to this activity is that the third-grade students played…

7 CFR 650.20 - Reviewing and commenting on EIS's prepared by other agencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... future use considered in the EIS? (3) Provisions for soil and water conservation management measures on... of severance on private land ownerships? (6) The impact on existing soil and water conservation... response. (2) EIS's submitted to conservation districts. NRCS may furnish needed soil, water, and related...

26 CFR 1.175-7 - Allocation of expenditures in certain circumstances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... the time the taxpayer paid or incurred expenditures for the purpose of soil or water conservation, or... that A's expenditures for the purpose of soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to... soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to directly and substantially benefit only the...

7 CFR 650.20 - Reviewing and commenting on EIS's prepared by other agencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... future use considered in the EIS? (3) Provisions for soil and water conservation managment measures on... of severance on private land ownerships? (6) The impact on existing soil and water conservation... response. (2) EIS's submitted to conservation districts. NRCS may furnish needed soil, water, and related...

26 CFR 1.175-7 - Allocation of expenditures in certain circumstances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... the time the taxpayer paid or incurred expenditures for the purpose of soil or water conservation, or... that A's expenditures for the purpose of soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to... soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to directly and substantially benefit only the...

7 CFR 650.20 - Reviewing and commenting on EIS's prepared by other agencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... future use considered in the EIS? (3) Provisions for soil and water conservation management measures on... of severance on private land ownerships? (6) The impact on existing soil and water conservation... response. (2) EIS's submitted to conservation districts. NRCS may furnish needed soil, water, and related...

26 CFR 1.175-7 - Allocation of expenditures in certain circumstances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... the time the taxpayer paid or incurred expenditures for the purpose of soil or water conservation, or... that A's expenditures for the purpose of soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to... soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to directly and substantially benefit only the...

26 CFR 1.175-7 - Allocation of expenditures in certain circumstances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... the taxpayer paid or incurred expenditures for the purpose of soil or water conservation, or for the... that A's expenditures for the purpose of soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to... soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to directly and substantially benefit only the...

7 CFR 650.20 - Reviewing and commenting on EIS's prepared by other agencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... future use considered in the EIS? (3) Provisions for soil and water conservation managment measures on... of severance on private land ownerships? (6) The impact on existing soil and water conservation... response. (2) EIS's submitted to conservation districts. NRCS may furnish needed soil, water, and related...

26 CFR 1.175-7 - Allocation of expenditures in certain circumstances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... the time the taxpayer paid or incurred expenditures for the purpose of soil or water conservation, or... that A's expenditures for the purpose of soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to... soil and water conservation can reasonably be expected to directly and substantially benefit only the...

Improvement of Soil and Water Conservation Outdoor Classrooms and Volunteers in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Y. L.; Lin, Y. H.; Huang, K. F.; Chan, H. C.

2016-12-01

In order to improve the knowledge and understanding of soil and water conservation, the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau, Taiwan sets up soil and water conservation outdoor classrooms and assigns volunteers for on-site commentating. There are 19 soil and water conservation outdoor classrooms and 483 volunteers. In order to intergate education resource and improve quality, the examination of outdoor classrooms and training of the volunteers were conducted. The training programs aimed to improve the standard of living, promote a general mood of voluntary service, and encourage the public to cultivate the value of hometown-treasuring and the sentiment of people-helping. The service system of volunteers was also organized through the training programs. The assessments of soil and water conservation outdoor classrooms were conducted through the on-site investigations. The improvement suggestions were then put forward according to the characteristics of the classrooms. The improvement contents were compiled for each outdoor classroom and there are five common suggestions depicted as follows: 1. the expectations of internationalization; 2. the issues of land leases; 3. improvement of traffic flow; 4. the format and information of explanation boards should be unified; and 5. the issues of facility maintaining. Key words: Soil and water conserveation, Volunteer, Outdoor classroom.

Soil Classification and Treatment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clemson Univ., SC. Vocational Education Media Center.

This instructional unit was designed to enable students, primarily at the secondary level, to (1) classify soils according to current capability classifications of the Soil Conservation Service, (2) select treatments needed for a given soil class according to current recommendations provided by the Soil Conservation Service, and (3) interpret a…

Soil management: The key to soil quality and sustainable agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basch, Gottlieb; Barão, Lúcia; Soares, Miguel

2017-04-01

Today, after the International Year of Soils in 2015 and the proclamation by the International Union of Soil Sciences of the International Decade of Soils 2015-2020, much attention is paid to soil quality. Often used interchangeably, both terms, soil quality and soil health, refer to dynamic soil properties such as soil organic matter or pH, while soil quality also includes inherent soil properties such as texture or mineral composition. However, it is the dynamic or manageable properties that adequate soil management can influence and thus contribute to a well-functioning soil environment capable to deliver the soil-mediated provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services and soil functions. This contribution intends to highlight the key principles of sustainable soil management and provide evidence that they are compliant with a productive, resource efficient and ecologically friendly agriculture. Paradoxically, and despite benefitting from good soil quality, agriculture itself when based on conventional, especially intensive tillage-based soil management practices contributes decisively to soil degradation and to several of the soil threats as identified by the Soil Thematic Strategy, being soil erosion and soil organic matter decline the most notorious ones. To mitigate soil degradation, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy has introduced conservation measures, mainly through cross-compliance measures supposed to guarantee minimum soil cover, to limit soil erosion and to maintain the levels of soil organic matter. However, it remains unclear to what extent EU member states apply these 'Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition' (GAEC) measures to their utilized agricultural areas. Effective and cost-efficient soil management systems able to conserve or to restore favourable soil conditions, to minimize soil erosion and to invert soil organic matter and soil biodiversity decline and improve soil structure are those capable to mimic as close as possible natural soil conditions while producing food, feed, fibre and fuel. This means to establish and manage crops while disturbing the soil as least as possible, to maintain the soil permanently covered with plants or their residues and to allow for a diversity of plants either in rotation or in association. These principles also known as Conservation Agriculture have shown to be the most promising approach for a sustainable production intensification and proven to work in a wide range of agro-ecological conditions. Although adopted already on more than 150 Mha worldwide, in Europe it still can be considered a novel soil management practice as it is applied on only around 2% of the annual cropland. A paradigm shift and innovative approaches are needed both to recognise the principles of Conservation Agriculture as the only cost-effective, and thus overall sustainable soil management practices capable to deliver the soil-mediated ecosystem services and to make Conservation Agriculture systems work and accepted as the best compromise to attain better soil quality. Keywords: Soil threats, Soil conservation, GAEC, Conservation Agriculture, Resource efficiency

Study on the Strategies for the Soil and Water Resource Con-servation of Slopeland in Taiwan in Response to the Extreme Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wen-Cheng

2014-05-01

Global climate change results in extreme weather, especially ex-treme precipitation in Taiwan. Though the total amount of precipi-tation remains unchanged, the frequency of rainfall return period increases which affects slopeland and causes sediment disaster. In Taiwan, slopeland occupies about 73% of national territory. Under harsh environmental stress, soil and water conservation of slope-land becomes more important. In response to the trends of global-ization impacts of climate change, long term strategic planning be-comes more necessary. This study reviewed international practices and decision making process about soil and water conservation of slopeland; and conducted the compilation and analysis of water and soil conservation related research projects in Taiwan within the past five years. It is necessary for Taiwan to design timely adaptive strategies about conducting the all-inclusive conservation of na-tional territory, management and business operation of watershed based on the existing regulation with the effects of extreme weather induced by climate change and the changes of social-economic en-vironments. In order to realize the policy vision of "Under the premise of multiple uses, operating the sustainable business and management of the water and soil resources in the watershed through territorial planning in response to the climate and so-cial-economic environment change". This study concluded the future tasks for soil and water con-servation: 1.Design and timely amend strategies for soil and wand water conservation in response to extreme weather. 2. Strengthen the planning and operating of the land management and integrated conservation of the water and soil resources of key watershed. 3. Manage and operate the prevention of debris flow disaster and large-scale landslide. 4. Formulate polices, related regulations and assessment indicators of soil and water conservation. 5. Maintain the biodiversity of the slopeland and reduce the ecological footprint. 6. Conduct soil and water conservation research according to the importance and urgency of policies. 7. Implement the international cooperation, technology communication, talent cultivation, and integrated education and promotion.

Crop rotations and poultry litter impact dynamic soil chemical properties and soil biota long-term

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Dynamic soil physiochemical interactions with conservation agricultural practices and soil biota are largely unknown. Therefore, this study aims to quantify long-term (12-yr) impacts of cover crops, poultry litter, crop rotations, and conservation tillage and their interactions on soil physiochemica...

Subsurface Manure Application for Conservation Tillage and Pasture Soils and Their Impact on the Nitrogen Balance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Incorporating manures into soil with conventional tillage is an effective means to reduce ammonia volatilization and conserve manure nitrogen. However, it is not possible in pasture and is not readily compatible with high-residue soil conservation practices for rowcrops. A variety of manure injecto...

Soil conservation applications with C-band SAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brisco, B.; Brown, R. J.; Naunheimer, J.; Bedard, D.

1992-01-01

Soil conservation programs are becoming more important as the growing human population exerts greater pressure on this non-renewable resource. Indeed, soil degradation affects approximately 10 percent of Canada's agricultural land with an estimated loss of 6,000 hectares of topsoil annually from Ontario farmland alone. Soil loss not only affects agricultural productivity but also decreases water quality and can lead to siltation problems. Thus, there is a growing demand for soil conservation programs and a need to develop an effective monitoring system. Topography and soil type information can easily be handled within a geographic information system (GIS). Information about vegetative cover type and surface roughness, which both experience considerable temporal change, can be obtained from remote sensing techniques. For further development of the technology to produce an operational soil conservation monitoring system, an experiment was conducted in Oxford County, Ontario which investigated the separability of fall surface cover type using C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data.

7 CFR 12.31 - On-site wetland identification criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... CONSERVATION Wetland Conservation § 12.31 On-site wetland identification criteria. (a) Hydric soils. (1) NRCS shall identify hydric soils through the use of published soil maps which reflect soil surveys completed by NRCS or through the use of on-site reviews. If a published soil map is unavailable for a given...

7 CFR 12.31 - On-site wetland identification criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... CONSERVATION Wetland Conservation § 12.31 On-site wetland identification criteria. (a) Hydric soils. (1) NRCS shall identify hydric soils through the use of published soil maps which reflect soil surveys completed by NRCS or through the use of on-site reviews. If a published soil map is unavailable for a given...

7 CFR 12.31 - On-site wetland identification criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... CONSERVATION Wetland Conservation § 12.31 On-site wetland identification criteria. (a) Hydric soils. (1) NRCS shall identify hydric soils through the use of published soil maps which reflect soil surveys completed by NRCS or through the use of on-site reviews. If a published soil map is unavailable for a given...

7 CFR 12.31 - On-site wetland identification criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... CONSERVATION Wetland Conservation § 12.31 On-site wetland identification criteria. (a) Hydric soils. (1) NRCS shall identify hydric soils through the use of published soil maps which reflect soil surveys completed by NRCS or through the use of on-site reviews. If a published soil map is unavailable for a given...

7 CFR 12.31 - On-site wetland identification criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... CONSERVATION Wetland Conservation § 12.31 On-site wetland identification criteria. (a) Hydric soils. (1) NRCS shall identify hydric soils through the use of published soil maps which reflect soil surveys completed by NRCS or through the use of on-site reviews. If a published soil map is unavailable for a given...

Land degradation, government subsidy, and smallholders' conservation decision: the case of the loess plateau in China.

PubMed

Shi, Min-Jun; Chen, Kevin

2004-12-01

Land degradation is one of the severe environmental problems in China. In order to combat land degradation, a soil conservation program was introduced since 2000 to reduce soil erosion by converting slope-cultivated land into forestry and pasture. This paper represents the first systematic attempt to investigate the impact of the soil conservation program on land degradation in the loess plateau. The results indicate that the soil conservation program to convert slope fields into forest or pasture is an effective way to combat soil erosion. However, a subsidy that is higher than profit of land use activity of slope fields before their conversion into forest and pasture is needed to encourage farmers to join the conservation program. A policy measure to encourage and assist farmers to develop sedentary livestock by using crops produced from fields as well as fodder and forage grass from the converted slope fields might contribute to combat soil erosion. Increase in off-farm job opportunities may encourage households to reduce cultivation in slope fields. That implies a policy measure to encourage rural urbanization might contribute to combat soil erosion.

Eco-hydrological Responses to Soil and Water Conservation in the Jinghe River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, H.; Jia, Y.; Qiu, Y.

2011-12-01

The Jinghe River Basin is one of the most serious soil erosion areas in the Loess Plateau. Many measures of soil and water conservation were applied in the basin. Terrestrial ecosystem model BIOME-BGC and distributed hydrological model WEP-L were used to build eco-hydrological model and verified by field observation and literature values. The model was applied in the Jinghe River Basin to analyze eco-hydrological responses under the scenarios of vegetation type change due to soil and water conservation polices. Four scenarios were set under the measures of conversion of cropland to forest, forestation on bare land, forestation on slope wasteland and planting grass on bare land. Analysis results show that the soil and water conservation has significant effects on runoff and the carbon cycle in the Jinghe River Basin: the average annual runoff would decrease and the average annual NPP and carbon storage would increase. Key words: soil and water conservation; conversion of cropland to forest; eco-hydrology response; the Jinghe River Basin

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES, A GUIDE FOR 4-H CLUB LEADERS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FOSTER, ALBERT B.; FOX, ADRIAN C.

THIS PUBLICATION WAS PREPARED BY THE SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE FOR USE WITH YOUTH GROUPS. VARIOUS ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS ARE PRESENTED WHICH CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP CONCEPTS ABOUT SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION. IN ORDER TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS OF DEMONSTRATING THESE ACTIVITIES, MANY OF THE CONCEPTS ARE PICTORIALLY ILLUSTRATED. THE ACTIVITIES…

26 CFR 1.175-4 - Definition of “land used in farming.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... before or at the same time as, the taxpayer makes the expenditures for soil or water conservation or for... land is idle because of the season, A makes certain soil and water conservation expenditures on this..., construct earthen terraces and ponds, and make other soil and water conservation expenditures. The land is...

26 CFR 1.175-4 - Definition of “land used in farming.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... before or at the same time as, the taxpayer makes the expenditures for soil or water conservation or for... land is idle because of the season, A makes certain soil and water conservation expenditures on this..., construct earthen terraces and ponds, and make other soil and water conservation expenditures. The land is...

26 CFR 1.175-4 - Definition of “land used in farming.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... before or at the same time as, the taxpayer makes the expenditures for soil or water conservation or for... land is idle because of the season, A makes certain soil and water conservation expenditures on this..., construct earthen terraces and ponds, and make other soil and water conservation expenditures. The land is...

26 CFR 1.175-4 - Definition of “land used in farming.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... before or at the same time as, the taxpayer makes the expenditures for soil or water conservation or for... land is idle because of the season, A makes certain soil and water conservation expenditures on this..., construct earthen terraces and ponds, and make other soil and water conservation expenditures. The land is...

Farmer Perceptions of Soil and Water Conservation Issues: Implications to Agricultural and Extension Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruening, Thomas H.; Martin, Robert A.

A sample of 731 farmers was surveyed to identify perceptions regarding selected soil and water conservation practices. The sample was stratified and proportioned by conservation district to have a representative group of respondents across Iowa. Items on the mailed questionnaire were designed to assess perceptions regarding issues in soil and…

Remote sensing techniques for the detection of soil erosion and the identification of soil conservation practices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pelletier, R. E.; Griffin, R. H.

1985-01-01

The following paper is a summary of a number of techniques initiated under the AgRISTARS (Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing) project for the detection of soil degradation caused by water erosion and the identification of soil conservation practices for resource inventories. Discussed are methods to utilize a geographic information system to determine potential soil erosion through a USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) model; application of the Kauth-Thomas Transform to detect present erosional status; and the identification of conservation practices through visual interpretation and a variety of enhancement procedures applied to digital remotely sensed data.

7 CFR 610.14 - Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations..., this includes the soil loss tolerance values used in those formulas for determining HEL. The soil loss tolerance value is used as one of the criteria for planning soil conservation systems. These values are...

7 CFR 610.14 - Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations..., this includes the soil loss tolerance values used in those formulas for determining HEL. The soil loss tolerance value is used as one of the criteria for planning soil conservation systems. These values are...

7 CFR 610.14 - Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations..., this includes the soil loss tolerance values used in those formulas for determining HEL. The soil loss tolerance value is used as one of the criteria for planning soil conservation systems. These values are...

7 CFR 610.14 - Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations..., this includes the soil loss tolerance values used in those formulas for determining HEL. The soil loss tolerance value is used as one of the criteria for planning soil conservation systems. These values are...

7 CFR 610.14 - Use of USLE, RUSLE, and WEQ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations..., this includes the soil loss tolerance values used in those formulas for determining HEL. The soil loss tolerance value is used as one of the criteria for planning soil conservation systems. These values are...

7 CFR 14.2 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1288(j)). (2) The rural abandoned mine program authorized by section 406 of... conservation program authorized by the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590a). (6) The Great Plains conservation program authorized by section 16 of the Soil Conservation and Domestic...

[Diversity of soil fauna in corn fields in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China under effects of conservation tillage].

PubMed

Zhu, Qiang-Gen; Zhu, An-Ning; Zhang, Jia-Bao; Zhang, Huan-Chao; Huang, Ping; Zhang, Cong-Zhi

2009-10-01

An investigation was made on the abundance and diversity of soil fauna in the corn fields under conventional and conservation tillage in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China. The abundance and diversity of soil fauna were higher at corn maturing (September) than at its jointing stage (July), and higher at jointing stage under conservation tillage than under conventional tillage. Soil fauna mainly distributed in surface soil layer (0-10 cm), but still had a larger number in 10-20 cm layer under conservation tillage. The individuals of acari, diptera, diplura, and microdrile oligochaetes, especially those of acari, were higher under conservation tillage than under conventional tillage. At maturing stage, an obvious effect of straw-returning under conservation tillage was observed, i. e., the more the straw returned, the higher the abundance of soil fauna, among which, the individuals of collembola, acari, coleopteran, and psocoptera, especially those of collembolan, increased significantly. The abundance of collembola at both jointing and maturing stages was significantly positively correlated with the quantity of straw returned, suggesting that collembola played an important role in straw decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Variation of ecosystem services and human activities: A case study in the Yanhe Watershed of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Chang-hong; Fu, Bo-Jie; He, Chan-Sheng; Lü, Yi-He

2012-10-01

The concept of 'ecosystem service' provides cohesive views on mechanisms by which nature contributes to human well-being. Fast social and economic development calls for research on interactions between human and natural systems. We took the Yanhe Watershed as our study area, and valued the variation of ecosystem services and human activities of 2000 and 2008. Five ecosystem services were selected i.e. net primary production (NPP), carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP), water conservation, soil conservation, and grain production. Human activity was represented by a composite human activity index (HAI) that integrates human population density, farmland ratio, influence of residential sites and road network. Analysis results of the five ecosystem services and human activity (HAI) are as follows: (i) NPP, CSOP, water conservation, and soil conservation increased from 2000 to 2008, while grain production declined. HAI decreased from 2000 to 2008. Spatially, NPP, CSOP, and water conservation in 2000 and 2008 roughly demonstrated a pattern of decline from south to north, while grain production shows an endocentric increasing spatial pattern. Soil conservation showed a spatial pattern of high in the south and low in the north in 2000 and a different pattern of high in the west and low in the east in 2008 respectively. HAI is proportional to the administrative level and economic development. Variation of NPP/CSOP between 2000 and 2008 show an increasing spatial pattern from northwest to southeast. In contrast, the variation of soil conservation shows an increasing pattern from southeast to northwest. Variation of water conservation shows a fanning out decreasing pattern. Variation of grain production doesn't show conspicuous spatial pattern. (ii) Variation of water conservation and of soil conservation is significantly positively correlated at 0.01 level. Both variations of water conservation and soil conservation are negatively correlated with variation of HAI at 0.01 level. Variations of NPP/CSOP are negatively correlated with variations of soil conservation and grain production at 0.05 level. (iii) Strong tradeoffs exist between regulation services and provision service, while synergies exist within regulation services. Driving effect of human activities on ecosystem services and tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem service are also discussed.

30 CFR 715.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... a qualified soil scientist or agronomist, may be obtained from any one or a combination of the following sources: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii...

30 CFR 816.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 816.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 817.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 817.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 715.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... a qualified soil scientist or agronomist, may be obtained from any one or a combination of the following sources: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii...

30 CFR 817.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 817.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 715.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... a qualified soil scientist or agronomist, may be obtained from any one or a combination of the following sources: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii...

30 CFR 715.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... a qualified soil scientist or agronomist, may be obtained from any one or a combination of the following sources: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii...

30 CFR 715.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... a qualified soil scientist or agronomist, may be obtained from any one or a combination of the following sources: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii...

30 CFR 816.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 816.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 816.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

30 CFR 817.200 - Interpretative rules related to general performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... demonstrate that the resulting soil medium is equal to or more suitable for sustaining revegetation than the...: (i) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service published data based on established soil series; (ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Technical Guides; (iii) State...

Impact of agronomic practices on soil biological properties on the Texas High Plains

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Semiarid environments of the Texas High Plains decrease soil organic carbon and soil residue building resulting in difficult conditions for soil microbes. Current conservation practices such as conservation tillage, crop rotation, and cover cropping have not been quickly adopted in the area. In or...

7 CFR 611.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.1 Purpose and scope. (a) This part sets forth policy on soil survey operations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (b) NRCS is responsible for soil survey activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A soil survey provides...

7 CFR 611.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.1 Purpose and scope. (a) This part sets forth policy on soil survey operations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (b) NRCS is responsible for soil survey activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A soil survey provides...

7 CFR 611.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.1 Purpose and scope. (a) This part sets forth policy on soil survey operations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (b) NRCS is responsible for soil survey activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A soil survey provides...

7 CFR 611.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.1 Purpose and scope. (a) This part sets forth policy on soil survey operations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (b) NRCS is responsible for soil survey activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A soil survey provides...

7 CFR 611.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.1 Purpose and scope. (a) This part sets forth policy on soil survey operations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (b) NRCS is responsible for soil survey activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A soil survey provides...

Quantification and fragment analysis of soil and cotton root-associated fungal and bacterial populations under different tillage managements

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Conservation tillage is a common management practice utilized in the hopes of reducing soil erosion and increasing soil carbon. Evidence suggests that conservation tillage may lead to habitat improvement for soil microorganisms, in particular rhizospheric bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhi...

Effects of poly-γ-glutamic acid biopreparation (PGAB) on nitrogen conservation in the coastal saline soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Lihua; Xu, Xianghong; Zhang, Huan; Han, Rui; Cheng, Yao; Tan, Xueyi; Chen, Xuanyu

2017-04-01

Water leaching is the major method to decrease soil salinity of the coastal saline soil. Conservation of soil nutrition in the soil ameliorating process is helpful to maintain soil fertility and prevent environment pollution. In the experiment, glutamic acid and poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA) producing bacteria were isolated for manufacturing the PGA biopreparation (PGAB), and the effect of PGAB on the soil nitrogen (N) conservation was assayed. The glutamic acid and PGA producing bacteria were identified as Brevibacterium flavum and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. After soil leached with water for 90 days, compared to control treatment, salt concentration of 0-30cm soil with PGAB treatment was lowered by 39.93%, however the total N loss was decreased by 65.37%. Compared to control, the microbial biomass N increased by 1.19 times at 0-30 cm soil with PGAB treatment. The populations of soil total bacteria, fungi, actinomyces, nitrogen fixing bacteria, ammonifying bacteria, nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria and biomass of soil algae were significantly increased in PGAB treatment, while anaerobic bacteria decreased (P<0.05). In addition, the percentage of soil aggregates with diameter > 0.25 mm and 0.02 mm < diameter <0.25 mm were increased by 2.93 times and 26.79% respectively in PGAB treatment. The soil erosion-resistance coefficient of PGAB treatment increased by 50%. All these suggested that the PGAB conserved the soil nitrogen effectively in the process of soil water leaching and improved the coastal saline soil quality.

7 CFR 610.13 - Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion... RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. (a) The...

7 CFR 610.13 - Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion... RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. (a) The...

7 CFR 610.13 - Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion... RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. (a) The...

7 CFR 610.13 - Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion... RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. (a) The...

7 CFR 610.13 - Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion... RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.13 Equations for predicting soil loss due to wind erosion. (a) The...

Criterion I: Soil and water conservation on rangelands [Chapter 2

Treesearch

Michael G. (Sherm) Karl; Paul T. Tueller; Gerald E. Schuman; Mark R. Vinson; James L. Fogg; Ronald W. Shafer; David A. Pyke; D. Terrance Booth; Steven J. Borchard; William G. Ypsilantis; Richard H. Barrett

2010-01-01

The Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable (SRR) has explicitly included conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources as a criterion of rangeland sustainability. Within the soil/water criterion, 10 indicators ­ five soil-based and five water-based - were developed through the expert opinions of rangeland scientists, rangeland management agency personnel, non-...

Conservation tillage, optimal water and organic nutrient supply enhance soil microbial activities during wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) cultivation

PubMed Central

Sharma, Pankaj; Singh, Geeta; Singh, Rana P.

2011-01-01

The field experiments were conducted on sandy loam soil at New Delhi, during 2007 and 2008 to investigate the effect of conservation tillage, irrigation regimes (sub-optimal, optimal and supra-optimal water regimes), and integrated nutrient management (INM) practices on soil biological parameters in wheat cultivation. The conservation tillage soils has shown significant (p<0.05) increase in soil respiration (81.1%), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) (104%) and soil dehydrogenase (DH) (59.2%) compared to the conventional tillage soil. Optimum water supply (3-irrigations) enhanced soil respiration over sub-optimum and supra-optimum irrigations by 13.32% and 79% respectively. Soil dehydrogenase (DH) activity in optimum water regime has also increased by 23.33% and 8.18% respectively over the other two irrigation regimes. Similarly, SMBC has also increased by 12.14% and 27.17% respectively in soil with optimum water supply compared to that of sub-optimum and supra-optimum water regime fields. The maximum increase in soil microbial activities is found when sole organic source (50% Farm Yard Manure+25% biofertilizer+25% Green Manure) has been used in combination with the conservation tillage and the optimum water supply. Study demonstrated that microbial activity could be regulated by tillage, water and nitrogen management in the soil in a sustainable manner. PMID:24031665

Genesee River Basin Study. Volume 1. Main Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

Watersheds" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, was prepared in June and October 1974. The report entitled "Dyke Creek...Watershed Preliminary Evaluation" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, was prepared in December 1974. The report recommended... Soil Conservation Service prepared the draft report "Dyke Creek, P.L. 566 Watershed Project, Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment" in June

Sustainable Soil Management: Its perception and the need for policy intervention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basch, Gottlieb; Kassam, Amir; González-Sánchez, Emilio

2017-04-01

As stated in the strategic objectives of the Global Soil Partnership "healthy soils and sustainable soil management are the precondition for human well-being and economic welfare and therefore play the key role for sustainable development". Although the functional properties of a healthy soil are well understood, in practice it is easily overlooked what is necessary to achieve and sustain healthy agricultural soils. This contribution intends: to discuss the concept of sustainable soil management in agricultural production with regard to soil health, and to highlight its importance in the achievement of both Sustainable Development Goals and the 4 per mille objectives, as well as for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In Europe, soil and the need for its conservation and stewardship gained visibility at the beginning of this century during the discussions related to the Soil Thematic Strategy. This higher level of awareness concerning the status of Europe's soils led to the introduction of soil conservation standards into the cross-compliance mechanism within the 1st Pillar of CAP. These standards were applied through the definition of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) which are compulsory for all farmers receiving direct payments, and in the last CAP reform in 2014, through the introduction of additional Greening Measures in Pilar 1. Despite these measures and the claim of some writers that they already contributed to significantly reducing soil erosion, the EC Joint Research Centre still reports water erosion in Europe amounting to almost one billion tonnes annually. Regarding soil conservation, soil carbon stocks or the provision of additional ecosystem services, measures called for in GAEC 4 (Minimum soil cover), in GAEC 5 (Minimum land management reflecting site specific conditions to limit soil erosion), and in GAEC 6 (Maintenance of soil organic matter level through appropriate practices, …), give the impression that a lot is being done to conserve Europe's agricultural soils. Knowing, however, that it is the member states who define these standards allowing them to be tailored to national and regional contexts, it becomes clear why agricultural practices and soil management on the majority of European cropland still follow a 'business-as-usual' model. Further, the introduction of the 'Greening' obligations continue to maintain the status quo for Europe's cropland soils as there is no added value opportunity available beyond the 5% Ecological Focus Area, accounted for by the existing landscape areas not directly used for production, and the maintenance of permanent pasture lands. In light of the above, urgent action is needed to extend these timid efforts of agricultural soil conservation to include measures that can apply directly to a much larger area under agricultural production while preserving and enhancing the production potential and capacity of the farmland. Crop production and agricultural land management based on the principles of Conservation Agriculture (no-till seeding and weeding, maintaining soil mulch cover, crop diversification) has proven to improve decisively the delivery of all soil-mediated productivity and ecosystem services, including soil carbon sequestration (4 per mille), the efficient use of natural resources and external inputs and thus improved cost efficiency and profit, while maintaining or increasing productivity. However, especially in Europe, institutional and policy support is needed to mainstream this truly agro-ecological approach of Conservation Agriculture to sustainable farming and land management. Keywords: Soil health, Common Agricultural Policy, Conservation Agriculture, Ecosystem Services, Productivity

An overview of forestry in the Farm Bill and Natural Resources Conservation Service forestry resources

Treesearch

Andy Henriksen

2010-01-01

Since 1935, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (originally the Soil Conservation Service) has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private landowners and managers conserve their soil, water, and other natural resources. NRCS employees provide technical assistance based on sound science and suited to a customer's...

Resource Conservation Glossary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Society of America, Ankeny, IA.

This glossary is a composite of terms selected from 13 technologies, and is the expanded revision of the original 1952 edition of "The Soil and Water Conservation Glossary." The terms were selected from these areas: agronomy, biology, conservation, ecology, economics, engineering, forestry, geology, hydrology, range, recreation, soils, and…

Indexing Soil Conservation: Farmer Perceptions of Agroforestry Benefits

Treesearch

Subhrendu K. Pattanayak; D. Evan Mercer

2002-01-01

Soil erosion poses economic and environmental concerns in many tropical uplands. Agroforestry has been proposed as a sustainable land use that can mitigate soil erosion and promote the economic welfare of small farmers. To evaluate such claims, we must (a) develop a composite measure of effectiveness, such as a soil conservation index, and (b) define it in terms...

Soil bacterial and fungal community responses across a conservation reserve program chronosequence in Texas high plains region

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We investigated changes in soil bacterial and fungal communities with increasing restoration time across a Conservation Reserve Program chronosequence (CRP) on fine sandy loam soils in the Texas high plains region. Soil samples (0-10cm) were collected in 2012 and 2014 from seven dryland croplands (0...

7 CFR 610.22 - State Technical Committee membership.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences. The State Conservationist... resources agency; (iv) Department of agriculture; (v) Association of soil and water conservation districts; and (vi) Soil and water conservation agency; (8) Agricultural producers representing the variety of...

7 CFR 610.22 - State Technical Committee membership.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences. The State Conservationist... resources agency; (iv) Department of agriculture; (v) Association of soil and water conservation districts; and (vi) Soil and water conservation agency; (8) Agricultural producers representing the variety of...

7 CFR 610.22 - State Technical Committee membership.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences. The State Conservationist... resources agency; (iv) Department of agriculture; (v) Association of soil and water conservation districts; and (vi) Soil and water conservation agency; (8) Agricultural producers representing the variety of...

7 CFR 610.22 - State Technical Committee membership.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences. The State Conservationist... resources agency; (iv) Department of agriculture; (v) Association of soil and water conservation districts; and (vi) Soil and water conservation agency; (8) Agricultural producers representing the variety of...

7 CFR 610.22 - State Technical Committee membership.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... variety of disciplines in soil, water, wetlands, plant, and wildlife sciences. The State Conservationist... resources agency; (iv) Department of agriculture; (v) Association of soil and water conservation districts; and (vi) Soil and water conservation agency; (8) Agricultural producers representing the variety of...

Slow reaction of soil structure to conservation agriculture practices in Veneto silty soils (North-Easter Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piccoli, Ilaria; Camarotto, Carlo; Lazzaro, Barbara; Furlan, Lorenzo; Morari, Francesco

2017-04-01

Soil structure plays a pivotal role in soil functioning and can inform of the degradation of the soil ecosystem. Intensive and repeated tillage operations have been known to negatively affect the soil structure characteristics while conservation agriculture (CA) practices were demonstrated to improve soil structure and related ecosystem services. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of conservation agriculture practices on total porosity, pore size distribution, pore architecture and morphology on silty soils of Veneto low-lying plain (North-Eastern Italy). Experimental design was established in 2010 on 4 farms in North-Eastern Italy to compare conventional intensive tillage system "IT" versus conservation agriculture "CA" (no-tillage, cover-crop and residue retention). 96 samples were collected in 2015 at four depths down to 50 cm depth, and investigated for porosity from micro to macro by coupling mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) (0.0074-100 µm) and x-ray computed microtomography (µCT) (>26 µm). Pore morphology and architecture were studied from 3D images analysis and MIP pore size curve. Ultramicroporosity class (0.1-5 μm) positively responded to CA after 5-yr of practices adoption while no significant effects were observed in the x-ray µCT domain (> 26 µm). Silty soils of Veneto plain showed a slow reaction to conservation agriculture because of the low soil organic carbon content and poor aggregate stability. Nevertheless the positive influence of CA on ultramicroporosity, which is strictly linked to soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization, indicated that a virtuous cycle was initiated between SOC and porosity, hopefully leading to well-developed macropore systems and, in turn, enhanced soil functions and ecosystem services.

Evaluating the first Brazilian program of payments for environmental services: An approach for optimizing soil conservation using GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zolin, C. A.; Folegatti, M. V.; Mingoti, R.; Paulino, J.; Sánchez-Román, R. M.; González, A. M.

2013-12-01

Brazil possesses one of the most important water assets in the world, however, the country experiences vast differences among its hydrographic regions. Although Brazil has the largest water reserves in the world, those reserves are not distributed according to the concentration of the population. In addition, the largest portions of these water reserves are not always located where the highest urban concentrations and demands occur, which causes serious problems in maintaining water supply within the country's most populous regions (Zolin et al. 2011). It has become evident that policies aimed at mitigating the growing water resources and water use conflicts in Brazil are crucial. The municipality of Extrema in Minas Gerais state in Brazil pioneered the first Brazilian municipal PES initiative (Conservador das Águas program), based on the relationship between forests and the benefits they provide. This study aimed to assess soil loss in the Posses sub-basin, where the Conservador das Águas program began. Additionally, we aimed to determine the potential that this PES initiative has for soil conservation, as well as to optimize the environmental services provided as a function of forest area size and location. In this sense, considering the prescribed conservation practices, land use situation, and soil cover in the Posses sub-basin, we analyzed the effectiveness of the Conservador das Águas program before and after implementation in relation to reduced soil loss under different land use and soil cover scenarios. We used a geographic information system (GIS) for spatializing and producing different information plans and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) for estimating soil loss. As a result, we found that optimized soil conservation may be obtained by adopting pasture conservation practices. Additionally the expected average soil loss in the Posses sub-basin under conditions of land use and soil cover, before and after implementing the water conservation program, was 30.63 and 7.06 Mg ha-1 year-1, respectively.

7 CFR 610.4 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... districts and other organizations concerned with the conservation of soil, water, plant, and wildlife... and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs...) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2...

7 CFR 610.4 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... districts and other organizations concerned with the conservation of soil, water, plant, and wildlife... and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs...) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2...

7 CFR 610.4 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... districts and other organizations concerned with the conservation of soil, water, plant, and wildlife... and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs...) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2...

Impacts of climate and land use change on reservoir sedimentation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Impacts of evolving climate and implementation of upstream soil conservation measures on sedimentation of the Fort Cobb Reservoir in West-Central Oklahoma are investigated. Conservation practices before the 1950s were few. Between 1950 and 2008, extensive soil conservation measures were implemented...

Extension of the soil conservation service rainfall-runoff methodology for ungaged watersheds

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-07-01

The estimation of direct runoff for ungaged watersheds is a common problem in : engineering hydrology. The method of the Soil Conservation Services (SCS) is widely used due to its ease of application. Runoff estimates are based upon the soil types an...

Book review: Principals of soil conservation and management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation and sustainable management of soil are essential features of humankind’s reverence for Nature. As well they should be, given the essential ecosystem services that soil imparts to our world, such as producing food, moderating climate, storing and cycling water and nutrients, purifying w...

7 CFR 12.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... improvement in soil conditions on a field or group of fields containing highly erodible cropland when compared...: Agricultural commodity means any crop planted and produced by annual tilling of the soil, including tilling by... and implement soil and water conservation activities or programs. Conservation plan means the document...

7 CFR 12.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... improvement in soil conditions on a field or group of fields containing highly erodible cropland when compared...: Agricultural commodity means any crop planted and produced by annual tilling of the soil, including tilling by... and implement soil and water conservation activities or programs. Conservation plan means the document...

Identification and classification of structural soil conservation measures based on very high resolution stereo satellite data.

PubMed

Eckert, Sandra; Tesfay Ghebremicael, Selamawit; Hurni, Hans; Kohler, Thomas

2017-05-15

Land degradation affects large areas of land around the globe, with grave consequences for those living off the land. Major efforts are being made to implement soil and water conservation measures that counteract soil erosion and help secure vital ecosystem services. However, where and to what extent such measures have been implemented is often not well documented. Knowledge about this could help to identify areas where soil and water conservation measures are successfully supporting sustainable land management, as well as areas requiring urgent rehabilitation of conservation structures such as terraces and bunds. This study explores the potential of the latest satellite-based remote sensing technology for use in assessing and monitoring the extent of existing soil and water conservation structures. We used a set of very high resolution stereo Geoeye-1 satellite data, from which we derived a detailed digital surface model as well as a set of other spectral, terrain, texture, and filtered information layers. We developed and applied an object-based classification approach, working on two segmentation levels. On the coarser level, the aim was to delimit certain landscape zones. Information about these landscape zones is useful in distinguishing different types of soil and water conservation structures, as each zone contains certain specific types of structures. On the finer level, the goal was to extract and identify different types of linear soil and water conservation structures. The classification rules were based mainly on spectral, textural, shape, and topographic properties, and included object relationships. This approach enabled us to identify and separate from other classes the majority (78.5%) of terraces and bunds, as well as most hillside terraces (81.25%). Omission and commission errors are similar to those obtained by the few existing studies focusing on the same research objective but using different types of remotely sensed data. Based on our results, we estimate that the construction of the conservation structures in our study area in Eritrea required over 300,000 person-days of work, which underlines the huge efforts involved in soil and water conservation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving Simulated Soil Moisture Fields Through Assimilation of AMSR-E Soil Moisture Retrievals with an Ensemble Kalman Filter and a Mass Conservation Constraint

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Bailing; Toll, David; Zhan, Xiwu; Cosgrove, Brian

2011-01-01

Model simulated soil moisture fields are often biased due to errors in input parameters and deficiencies in model physics. Satellite derived soil moisture estimates, if retrieved appropriately, represent the spatial mean of soil moisture in a footprint area, and can be used to reduce model bias (at locations near the surface) through data assimilation techniques. While assimilating the retrievals can reduce model bias, it can also destroy the mass balance enforced by the model governing equation because water is removed from or added to the soil by the assimilation algorithm. In addition, studies have shown that assimilation of surface observations can adversely impact soil moisture estimates in the lower soil layers due to imperfect model physics, even though the bias near the surface is decreased. In this study, an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with a mass conservation updating scheme was developed to assimilate the actual value of Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) soil moisture retrievals to improve the mean of simulated soil moisture fields by the Noah land surface model. Assimilation results using the conventional and the mass conservation updating scheme in the Little Washita watershed of Oklahoma showed that, while both updating schemes reduced the bias in the shallow root zone, the mass conservation scheme provided better estimates in the deeper profile. The mass conservation scheme also yielded physically consistent estimates of fluxes and maintained the water budget. Impacts of model physics on the assimilation results are discussed.

7 CFR 625.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... the long term storage of carbon in soil (as soil organic matter) or in plant material (such as in trees). Chief means the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service or the person delegated... conservation activities result in a net conservation benefit for listed, candidate, or other species. Landowner...

7 CFR 610.11 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.11 Purpose... by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to predict soil erosion due to water and wind... Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801-3813 specified that the Secretary would publish the universal soil...

7 CFR 610.11 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.11 Purpose... by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to predict soil erosion due to water and wind... Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801-3813 specified that the Secretary would publish the universal soil...

7 CFR 610.11 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.11 Purpose... by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to predict soil erosion due to water and wind... Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801-3813 specified that the Secretary would publish the universal soil...

7 CFR 610.11 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.11 Purpose... by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to predict soil erosion due to water and wind... Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801-3813 specified that the Secretary would publish the universal soil...

7 CFR 610.11 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Soil Erosion Prediction Equations § 610.11 Purpose... by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to predict soil erosion due to water and wind... Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 3801-3813 specified that the Secretary would publish the universal soil...

How conservation agriculture can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance soil carbon storage in croplands

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation agriculture can mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture by enhancing soil carbon sequestration, improving soil quality, N-use efficiency and water use efficiencies, and reducing fuel consumption. Management practices that increase carbon inputs and while reducing carbo...

26 CFR 1.175-6 - Adoption or change of method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... the method of treating expenditures for soil or water conservation as expenses for the first taxable... or water conservation expenditures described in section 175(a) are paid or incurred. Such adoption... soil and water conservation expenditures as provided by section 175 for any taxable year to which the...

26 CFR 1.175-6 - Adoption or change of method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... the method of treating expenditures for soil or water conservation as expenses for the first taxable... or water conservation expenditures described in section 175(a) are paid or incurred. Such adoption... soil and water conservation expenditures as provided by section 175 for any taxable year to which the...

26 CFR 1.175-6 - Adoption or change of method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... the method of treating expenditures for soil or water conservation as expenses for the first taxable... or water conservation expenditures described in section 175(a) are paid or incurred. Such adoption... soil and water conservation expenditures as provided by section 175 for any taxable year to which the...

26 CFR 1.175-6 - Adoption or change of method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... the method of treating expenditures for soil or water conservation as expenses for the first taxable... or water conservation expenditures described in section 175(a) are paid or incurred. Such adoption... soil and water conservation expenditures as provided by section 175 for any taxable year to which the...

The Reduction of Partitioned Wind and Water Erosion by Conservation Agriculture

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil loss due to wind and water erosion degrades the soil and results in environmental problems downstream and downwind of the source field. Wind and water erosion may both occur to varying extents particularly in semi-arid environments. Soil conservation strategies require information about the p...

Soil microbial community restoration in conservation reserve program semi-arid grasslands

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the Southern High Plains (SHP) is known to play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem health by reducing soil erosion. However, the restoration of its soil biological health (biological community and its function) over time have not been clearly elucidated...

7 CFR 1491.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... agriculture is so broad that an included use could lead to the degradation of soils and agriculture... local soil conservation district in consultation with the local committees established under Section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 5909h(b)(5)) and the Secretary, or...

Approved Practices in Soil Conservation. Fifth Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosworth, Duane A.; Foster, Albert B.

This book is designed for individuals who want to apply conservation practices either without or with minimal technical assistance. These individuals include students who want to practice soil/water conservation with some instructor guidance and others who want to apply the principles in their own way, to their own conditions, and within their own…

[New paradigm for soil and water conservation: a method based on watershed process modeling and scenario analysis].

PubMed

Zhu, A-Xing; Chen, La-Jiao; Qin, Cheng-Zhi; Wang, Ping; Liu, Jun-Zhi; Li, Run-Kui; Cai, Qiang-Guo

2012-07-01

With the increase of severe soil erosion problem, soil and water conservation has become an urgent concern for sustainable development. Small watershed experimental observation is the traditional paradigm for soil and water control. However, the establishment of experimental watershed usually takes long time, and has the limitations of poor repeatability and high cost. Moreover, the popularization of the results from the experimental watershed is limited for other areas due to the differences in watershed conditions. Therefore, it is not sufficient to completely rely on this old paradigm for soil and water loss control. Recently, scenario analysis based on watershed modeling has been introduced into watershed management, which can provide information about the effectiveness of different management practices based on the quantitative simulation of watershed processes. Because of its merits such as low cost, short period, and high repeatability, scenario analysis shows great potential in aiding the development of watershed management strategy. This paper elaborated a new paradigm using watershed modeling and scenario analysis for soil and water conservation, illustrated this new paradigm through two cases for practical watershed management, and explored the future development of this new soil and water conservation paradigm.

Effect of roller/crimper designs in terminating rye cover crop in small-scale conservation systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years, use of cover crops in no-till organic production systems has steadily increased. When cover crops are terminated at an appropriate growth stage, the unincorporated residue mulch protects the soil from erosion, runoff, soil compaction, and weed pressure, and conserves soil water. In ...

Influence of FGD gypsum on the properties of a highly erodible soil under conservation tillage

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The performance of conservation tillage practices imposed on highly erodible soils may be improved by the use of amendments with a high solubility rate, and whose dissolution products are translocated at depth in the soil profile faster than normally used agricultural lime and fertilizer products. T...

Soil nitrogen dynamics and leaching under conservation tillage in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Georgia, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation tillage (CsT) involves management that reduces soil erosion by maintaining crop residue cover on farm fields. Typically, both infiltration and soil organic matter increase over time with CsT practices. We compared the impact of a commonly used CsT practice, strip tillage (ST), to conven...

Can conservation tillage reduce N20 emissions on cropland transitioning to organic vegetable production?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation soil management practices such as no-till (NT) and strip-till (ST) are effective ways to sequester carbon and increase soil organic matter in agricultural lands. However, the impact of these practices on other greenhouse gases (GHG) such as nitrous oxide (N2O) varies depending on soil ...

Soil particulate organic matter dynamics after conservation reserve program land is converted to cropland

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this project is to compare the soil C quality in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) vs. land under Sorghum cropping or rangeland in the Southern High Plains. Whole soils as well as light fraction particulate organic matter (lfPOM) was assessed using diffuse reflectance Fourier trans...

7 CFR 1468.4 - Establishing Conservation Farm Option (CFO) pilot project areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...) Conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources, (ii) Water quality protection or improvement, (iii... that can be geographically described and has specific environmental sensitivities or significant soil...

Soil tillage conservation and its effect on erosion control, water management and carbon sequestration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, Dr.; Gus, Dr.; Bogdan, Dr.; Moraru, Dr.; Pop, Dr.; Clapa, Dr.; Pop, Drd.

2009-04-01

The energetic function of the soil expressed through the potential energy accumulated through humus, the biogeochemical function (the circuit of the nutrient elements) are significantly influenced by its hydrophysical function and especially by the state of the bedding- consolidation, soil capacity of retaining an optimal quantity of water, and then its gradual disponibility for plant consumption. The understanding of soil functions and management including nutrient production, stocking, filtering and transforming minerals, water , organic matter , gas circuit and furnishing breeding material, all make the basis of human activity, Earth's past, present and especially future. The minimum tillage soil systems - paraplow, chisel or rotary grape - are polyvalent alternatives for basic preparation, germination bed preparation and sowing, for fields and crops with moderate loose requirements being optimized technologies for: soil natural fertility activation and rationalization, reduction of erosion, increasing the accumulation capacity for water and realization of sowing in the optimal period. By continuously applying for 10 years the minimum tillage system in a crop rotation: corn - soy-bean - wheat - potato / rape, an improvement in physical, hydro-physical and biological properties of soil was observed, together with the rebuilt of structure and increase of water permeability of soil. The minimum tillage systems ensure an adequate aerial-hydrical regime for the biological activity intensity and for the nutrients solubility equilibrium. The vegetal material remaining at the soil surface or superficially incorporated has its contribution to intensifying the biological activity, being an important resource of organic matter. The minimum tillage systems rebuild the soil structure, improving the global drainage of soil which allows a rapid infiltration of water in soil. The result is a more productive soil, better protected against wind and water erosion and needing less fuel for preparing the germination bed. Presently it is necessary a change concerning the concept of conservation practices and a new approach regarding the control of erosion. The real conservation of soil must be expanded beyond the traditional understanding of soil erosion. The real soil conservation is represented by carbon management. We need to focus to another level concerning conservation by focusing on of soil quality. Carbon management is necessary for a complex of matters including soil, water management, field productivity, biological fuel and climatic change. Profound research is necessary in order to establish the carbon sequestration practices and their implementation impact.

Soil tillage conservation and its effect on erosion control, water management and carbon sequestration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, T.; Gus, P.; Bogdan, I.; Moraru, P.; Pop, A.; Clapa, D.; Pop, L.

2009-04-01

The energetic function of the soil expressed through the potential energy accumulated through humus, the biogeochemical function (the circuit of the nutrient elements) are significantly influenced by its hydrophysical function and especially by the state of the bedding- consolidation, soil capacity of retaining an optimal quantity of water, and then its gradual disponibility for plant consumption. The understanding of soil functions and management including nutrient production, stocking, filtering and transforming minerals, water , organic matter, gas circuit and furnishing breeding material, all make the basis of human activity, Earth's past, present and especially future. The minimum tillage soil systems - paraplow, chisel or rotary grape - are polyvalent alternatives for basic preparation, germination bed preparation and sowing, for fields and crops with moderate loose requirements being optimized technologies for: soil natural fertility activation and rationalization, reduction of erosion, increasing the accumulation capacity for water and realization of sowing in the optimal period. By continuously applying for 10 years the minimum tillage system in a crop rotation: corn - soy-bean - wheat - potato / rape, an improvement in physical, hydro-physical and biological properties of soil was observed, together with the rebuilt of structure and increase of water permeability of soil. The minimum tillage systems ensure an adequate aerial-hydrical regime for the biological activity intensity and for the nutrients solubility equilibrium. The vegetal material remaining at the soil surface or superficially incorporated has its contribution to intensifying the biological activity, being an important resource of organic matter. The minimum tillage systems rebuild the soil structure, improving the global drainage of soil which allows a rapid infiltration of water in soil. The result is a more productive soil, better protected against wind and water erosion and needing less fuel for preparing the germination bed. Presently it is necessary a change concerning the concept of conservation practices and a new approach regarding the control of erosion. The real conservation of soil must be expanded beyond the traditional understanding of soil erosion. The real soil conservation is represented by carbon management. We need to focus to another level concerning conservation by focusing on of soil quality. Carbon management is necessary for a complex of matters including soil, water management, field productivity, biological fuel and climatic change.

Black walnut suitability index: a Natural Resources Conservation Service national soil information system based interpretive model

Treesearch

Douglas c. Wallace; Fred J. Young

2008-01-01

Suitable site conditions are essential for productive growth of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.). Field officers at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in the Midwest are often asked, "What is a good walnut soil?" Current NRCS information available to most field offices rates soils only as "suitable" or "...

Impact of biosolids and tillage on soil organic matter fractions: Implications of carbon saturation for conservation management in the Virginia Coastal Plain

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Long-term soil conservation management decreases soil bulk density, increases water infiltration and water holding capacity. In the Virginia Coastal Plain, growers have been practicing rotational no-tillage and continuous no-tillage with and without biosolid application over 20 years to improve soi...

Gypsum adherence to forage: consideration for excessive ingestion by ruminates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4•2H2O) has long been used as a soil amendment to improve soil conditions and its use has recently been encouraged by the USDA-NRCS for soil conservation through a new National Conservation Practice Standard: Code 333. However, there is concern regarding the e...

Long-term N fertilization and conservation tillage practices conserve surface but not profile SOC stocks under semi-arid irrigated corn

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

No tillage (NT) and N fertilization can increase surface soil organic C (SOC) stocks, but the effects deeper in the soil profile are uncertain. Subsequent tillage could counter SOC stabilized through NT practices by disrupting soil aggregation and promoting decomposition. We followed a long-term ti...

Prioritizing conservation effort through the use of biological soil crusts as ecosystem function indicators in an arid region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bowker, M.A.; Miller, M.E.; Belnap, J.; Sisk, T.D.; Johnson, N.C.

2008-01-01

Conservation prioritization usually focuses on conservation of rare species or biodiversity, rather than ecological processes. This is partially due to a lack of informative indicators of ecosystem function. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) trap and retain soil and water resources in arid ecosystems and function as major carbon and nitrogen fixers; thus, they may be informative indicators of ecosystem function. We created spatial models of multiple indicators of the diversity and function of BSCs (species richness, evenness, functional diversity, functional redundancy, number of rare species, number of habitat specialists, nitrogen and carbon fixation indices, soil stabilization, and surface roughening) for the 800,000-ha Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Utah, U.S.A.). We then combined the indicators into a single BSC function map and a single BSC biodiversity map (2 alternative types of conservation value) with an unweighted averaging procedure and a weighted procedure derived from validations performance. We also modeled potential degradation with data from a rangeland assessment survey. To determine which areas on the landscape were the highest conservation priorities, we overlaid the function- and diversity-based conservation-value layers on the potential degradation layer. Different methods for ascribing conservation-value and conservation-priority layers all yielded strikingly similar results (r = 0.89-0.99), which suggests that in this case biodiversity and function can be conserved simultaneously. We believe BSCs can be used as indicators of ecosystem function in concert with other indicators (such as plant-community properties) and that such information can be used to prioritize conservation effort in drylands. ?? 2008 Society for Conservation Biology.

Research progress and harnessing method of soil and water loss in Pisha Sandstone region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, P. Q.; Yang, C. X.; Jing, C. R.

2018-05-01

Pisha Sandstone region is the most vulnerable and the most dramatic area of soil erosion, severe soil erosion on the ecological bases of China’s energy security constitutes a serious challenge. Research progress of soil erosion in pisha Sandstone region was reviewed based on the need of soil and water ecological construction in Pisha Sandstone region and harnessing the yellow river including soil erosion mechanism, soil erosion dynamic monitoring and soil erosion simulation assessments. Meanwhile, the latest progress of soil and water conservation measures was analyzed, and the existing problems and future harnessing measures of soil and water loss were discussed. This study is to explore the comprehensive management method and provide scientific theory for constructing soil and water conservation project in Pisha Sandstone region.

Quantifying the main sediment sources in agricultural landscapes of Southern Brazil cultivated with conventional and conservation practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evrard, Olivier; Le Gall, Marion; Tiecher, Tales; Gomes Minella, Jean Paolo; Laceby, J. Patrick; Ayrault, Sophie

2017-04-01

Agricultural expansion that occurred in the 1960s in Southern Brazil significantly increased soil erosion and sediment supply to the river networks. To limit the deleterious impacts of soil erosion, conservation practices were progressively implemented in the 1990s, including the direct sowing of crops on a soil densely covered with plant residues, contour farming, the installation of ponds to trap sediment in the landscape and the use of crop rotations. However, there remains a lack of observational data to investigate the impact of these conservation practices on soil erosion and sediment supply. This data is crucial to protect soil resources and maintain the sustainability of food production systems in this region of the world characterized by a rapidly increasing population. Accordingly, sediment sources were investigated in the Guaporé catchment (2,032 km2) representative of the cultivated environments found in this part of the world. In the upper catchment, the landscape is characterized by gentle slopes and deep soils (Ferralsols, Nitisols) corresponding to the edge of the basaltic plateau. Soybean, corn and wheat under direct sowing are the main crops in this area. In contrast, steep and shallow soils (Luvisols, Acrisols, Leptosols) highly connected to the rivers are found in the lower catchment, where tobacco and corn fields are cultivated with conventional ploughing. These soil types were characterized by elemental geochemistry and 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Sediment sources were then modelled using the optimal suite of properties (87Sr/86Sr ratios, K, Ti, Co, As, Ba, and Pb). The results demonstrate that sediment collected at the catchment outlet during two hydrological years (2012-2014) mainly originated from downstream soils (Luvisols, Acrisols, Leptosols; 92±3%), with this proportion remaining stable throughout the monitoring period. This research indicates that conservation practices implemented in the upper catchment are effective and that similar methods should be applied to downstream soils in order to conserve soil resources and limit the degradation of freshwater environments.

Abatement costs of soil conservation in China's Loess Plateau: balancing income with conservation in an agricultural system.

PubMed

Hou, Lingling; Hoag, Dana L K; Keske, Catherine M H

2015-02-01

This study proposes the use of marginal abatement cost curves to calculate environmental damages of agricultural systems in China's Loess Plateau. Total system costs and revenues, management characteristics and pollution attributes are imputed into a directional output distance function, which is then used to determine shadow prices and abatement cost curves for soil and nitrogen loss. Marginal abatement costs curves are an effective way to compare economic and conservation tradeoffs when field-specific data are scarce. The results show that sustainable agricultural practices can balance soil conservation and agricultural production; land need not be retired, as is current policy. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effectiveness assessment of soil conservation measures in reducing soil erosion in Baiquan County of Northeastern China by using (137)Cs techniques.

PubMed

Zhang, Qing-Wen; Li, Yong

2014-05-01

Accelerated soil erosion is considered as a major land degradation process resulting in increased sediment production and sediment-associated nutrient inputs to the rivers. Over the last decade, several soil conservation programs for erosion control have been conducted throughout Northeastern China. Reliable information on soil erosion rates is an essential prerequisite to assess the effectiveness of soil conservation measures. A study was carried out in Baiquan County of Northeastern China to assess the effectiveness of soil conservation measures in reducing soil erosion using the (137)Cs tracer technique and related techniques. This study reports the use of (137)Cs measurements to quantify medium-term soil erosion rates in traditional slope farmland, contour cropping farmland and terrace farmland in the Dingjiagou catchment and the Xingsheng catchment of Baiquan County. The (137)Cs reference inventory of 2532 ± 670 Bq m(-2) was determined. Based on the principle of the (137)Cs tracer technique, soil erosion rates were estimated. The results showed that severe erosion on traditional slope farmland is the dominant soil erosion process in the area. The terrace measure reduced soil erosion rates by 16% for the entire slope. Typical net soil erosion rates are estimated to be 28.97 Mg per hectare per year for traditional slope farmland and 25.04 Mg per hectare per year for terrace farmland in the Dingjiagou catchment. In contrast to traditional slope farmland with a soil erosion rate of 34.65 Mg per hectare per year, contour cultivation reduced the soil erosion rate by 53% resulting in a soil erosion rate of 22.58 Mg per hectare per year in the Xingsheng catchment. These results indicated that soil losses can be controlled by changing tillage practices from the traditional slope farmland cultivation to the terrace or contour cultivation.

The status of soil mapping for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olson, G.L.; Lee, R.D.; Jeppesen, D.J.

This report discusses the production of a revised version of the general soil map of the 2304-km{sup 2} (890-mi{sup 2}) Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) site in southeastern Idaho and the production of a geographic information system (GIS) soil map and supporting database. The revised general soil map replaces an INEL soil map produced in 1978 and incorporates the most current information on INEL soils. The general soil map delineates large soil associations based on National Resources Conservation Services [formerly the Soil Conservation Service (SCS)] principles of soil mapping. The GIS map incorporates detailed information that could not be presentedmore » on the general soil map and is linked to a database that contains the soil map unit descriptions, surficial geology codes, and other pertinent information.« less

Evaluating indirect and direct effects of eco-restoration policy on soil conservation service in Yangtze River Basin.

PubMed

Kong, Lingqiao; Zheng, Hua; Rao, Enming; Xiao, Yi; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Li, Cong

2018-08-01

The conservation impacts of policies that promote large-scale ecological restoration of ecosystem services and socio-economic development are well documented around the world. However, the effect of socio-economic development resulting from such policies on ecosystem services is rarely analysed, although it is important to do so if these policies are to be sustainable. We analysed the socio-economic impacts of soil conservation services from 2000 to 2015 in the Yangtze River Basin under the Grain to Green Programme (GTGP). Also we assessed the driving forces behind the programme: conservation policies, urbanization, agricultural development, and population growth. Our results show that during 2000-2015, cultivated area decreased by 7.5%, urban area increased by 67.5%, forest area increased by 2.1%, and soil erosion was reduced by 19.5%. The programme not only contributed significantly to an improvement in soil conservation services but also enhanced them significantly through faster urbanization. Furthermore, vegetation cover and crop yields increased synergistically, mainly due to high-efficiency agriculture that reduced the negative effect of the GTGP on agricultural production. Overall determining the indirect and direct effects of the GTGP on soil conservation and agricultural production are important for furthering our understanding of the long-term effects of ecological restoration policies, and the present study offers practical insights for ecological restoration of other watersheds. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Long-term Conservation Tillage on Soil Nutrients in Sloping Fields in Regions Characterized by Water and Wind Erosion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Chunjian; Cao, Xue; Yuan, Shuai; Wang, Weiyu; Feng, Yongzhong; Qiao, Bo

2015-12-01

Conservation tillage is commonly used in regions affected by water and wind erosion. To understand the effects of conservation tillage on soil nutrients and yield, a long-term experiment was set up in a region affected by water and wind erosion on the Loess Plateau. The treatments used were traditional tillage (CK), no tillage (NT), straw mulching (SM), plastic-film mulching (PM), ridging and plastic-film mulching (RPM) and intercropping (In). Our results demonstrate that the available nutrients in soils subjected to non-traditional tillage treatments decreased during the first several years and then remained stable over the last several years of the experiment. The soil organic matter and total nitrogen content increased gradually over 6 years in all treatments except CK. The nutrient content of soils subjected to conservative tillage methods, such as NT and SM, were significantly higher than those in soils under the CK treatment. Straw mulching and film mulching effectively reduced an observed decrease in soybean yield. Over the final 6 years of the experiment, soybean yields followed the trend RPM > PM > SM > NT > CK > In. This trend has implications for controlling soil erosion and preventing non-point source pollution in sloping fields by sacrificing some food production.

The history of human-induced soil erosion: Geomorphic legacies, early descriptions and research, and the development of soil conservation—A global synopsis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dotterweich, Markus

2013-11-01

This paper presents a global synopsis about the geomorphic evidence of soil erosion in humid and semihumid areas since the beginning of agriculture. Historical documents, starting from ancient records to data from the mid-twentieth century and numerous literature reviews form an extensive assortment of examples that show how soil erosion has been perceived previously by scholars, land surveyors, farmers, land owners, researchers, and policy makers. Examples have been selected from ancient Greek and Roman Times and from central Europe, southern Africa, North America, the Chinese Loess Plateau, Australia, New Zealand, and Easter Island. Furthermore, a comprehensive collection on the development of soil erosion research and soil conservation has been provided, with a particular focus on Germany and the USA. Geomorphic evidence shows that most of the agriculturally used slopes in the Old and New Worlds had already been affected by soil erosion in earlier, prehistoric times. Early descriptions of soil erosion are often very vague. With regard to the Roman Times, geomorphic evidence shows seemingly opposing results, ranging from massive devastation to landscapes remaining stable for centuries. Unfortunately, historical documentation is lacking. In the following centuries, historical records become more frequent and more precise and observations on extreme soil erosion events are prominent. Sometimes they can be clearly linked to geomorphic evidence in the field. The advent of professional soil conservation took place in the late eighteenth century. The first extensive essay on soil conservation known to the Western world was published in Germany in 1815. The rise of professional soil conservation occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Soil remediation and flood prevention programs were initiated, but the long-term success of these actions remains controversial. In recent years, increasing interest is to recover any traditional knowledge of soil management in order to incorporate it into modern soil conservation strategies. The study shows that local and regional variations in natural settings, cultural traditions, and socioeconomic conditions played a major role for the dynamics and the rates of soil erosion on a long-term perspective. Geomorphic evidence and historical sources can often complement each other, but there should be also an awareness of new pitfalls when using them together.

Nonstationary frequency analysis for the trivariate flood series of the Weihe River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Cong; Xiong, Lihua

2016-04-01

Some intensive human activities such as water-soil conservation can significantly alter the natural hydrological processes of rivers. In this study, the effect of the water-soil conservation on the trivariate flood series from the Weihe River located in the Northwest China is investigated. The annual maxima daily discharge, annual maxima 3-day flood volume and annual maxima 5-day flood volume are chosen as the study data and used to compose the trivariate flood series. The nonstationarities in both the individual univariate flood series and the corresponding antecedent precipitation series generating the flood events are examined by the Mann-Kendall trend test. It is found that all individual univariate flood series present significant decreasing trend, while the antecedent precipitation series can be treated as stationary. It indicates that the increase of the water-soil conservation land area has altered the rainfall-runoff relationship of the Weihe basin, and induced the nonstationarities in the three individual univariate flood series. The time-varying moments model based on the Pearson type III distribution is applied to capture the nonstationarities in the flood frequency distribution with the water-soil conservation land area introduced as the explanatory variable of the flood distribution parameters. Based on the analysis for each individual univariate flood series, the dependence structure among the three univariate flood series are investigated by the time-varying copula model also with the water-soil conservation land area as the explanatory variable of copula parameters. The results indicate that the dependence among the trivariate flood series is enhanced by the increase of water-soil conservation land area.

The 3D elevation program - Precision agriculture and other farm practices

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sugarbaker, Larry J.; Carswell, Jr., William J.

2016-12-27

A founding motto of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), originally the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), explains that “If we take care of the land, it will take care of us.” Digital elevation models (DEMs; see fig. 1) are derived from light detection and ranging (lidar) data and can be processed to derive values such as slope angle, aspect, and topographic curvature. These three measurements are the principal parameters of the NRCS LidarEnhanced Soil Survey (LESS) model, which improves the precision of soil surveys, by more accurately displaying the slopes and soils patterns, while increasing the objectivity and science in line placement. As combined resources, DEMs, LESS model outputs, and similar derived datasets are essential for conserving soil, wetlands, and other natural resources managed and overseen by the NRCS and other Federal and State agencies.

[Assessment on the changing conditions of ecosystems in key ecological function zones in China].

PubMed

Huang, Lin; Cao, Wei; Wu, Dan; Gong, Guo-li; Zhao, Guo-song

2015-09-01

In this paper, the dynamics of ecosystem macrostructure, qualities and core services during 2000 and 2010 were analyzed for the key ecological function zones of China, which were classified into four types of water conservation, soil conservation, wind prevention and sand fixation, and biodiversity maintenance. In the water conservation ecological function zones, the areas of forest and grassland ecosystems were decreased whereas water bodies and wetland were increased in the past 11 years, and the water conservation volume of forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems increased by 2.9%. This region needs to reverse the decreasing trends of forest and grassland ecosystems. In the soil conservation ecological function zones, the area of farmland ecosystem was decreased, and the areas of forest, grassland, water bodies and wetland ecosystems were increased. The total amount of the soil erosion was reduced by 28.2%, however, the soil conservation amount of ecosystems increased by 38.1%. In the wind prevention and sand fixation ecological function zones, the areas of grassland, water bodies and wetland ecosystems were decreased, but forest and farmland ecosystems were increased. The unit amount of the soil. wind erosion was reduced and the sand fixation amount of ecosystems increased lightly. In this kind of region that is located in arid and semiarid areas, ecological conservation needs to reduce farmland area and give priority to the protection of the original ecological system. In the biodiversity maintenance ecological function zones, the areas of grassland and desert ecosystems were decreased and other types were increased. The human disturbances showed a weakly upward trend and needs to be reduced. The key ecological function zones should be aimed at the core services and the protecting objects, to assess quantitatively on the effectiveness of ecosystem conservation and improvement.

Measuring, understanding and implementing (or at least trying) soil and water conservation in agricultural areas in Mediterranean conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, Jose Alfonso; Burguet, María; Castillo, Carlos; de Luna, Elena; Guzmán, Gema; Lora, Ángel; Lorite, Ignacio; Mora, José; Pérez, Rafael; Soriano, María A.; Taguas, Encarnación V.

2015-04-01

Understanding soil erosion processes is the first step for designing and implementing effective soil conservation strategies. In agricultural areas, spatially in arid and semiarid conditions, water conservation is interlinked with soil conservation, and usually need to be addressed simultaneously to achieve success in their use by farmers. This is so for different reasons, but usually because some reduction in runoff is required to prevent soil erosion or to the need to design soil conservation systems that do maintain a favourable water balance for the crop to prevent yield reductions. The team presenting this communication works around both issues in Southern Spain, interconnecting several lines of research with the final objective of contribute to reverse some severe issues relating soil conservation in agricultural areas, mostly on tree crops (olives and vineyards). One of these lines is long-term experiments measuring, runoff and sediment losses at plot and small catchment scale. In these experiments we test the effect of different soil management alternatives on soil and water conservation. We also measured the evolution of soil properties and, in some cases, the evolution of soil moisture as well as nutrient and carbon losses with runoff and sediment. We also tests in these experiments new cover crops, from species better adapted to the rainfall regime of the region to mixes with several species to increase biodiversity. We complement these studies with surveys of soil properties in commercial farms. I some of these farms we follow the introduction by farmers of the cover crop strategies previously developed in our experimental fields. These data are invaluable to elaborate, calibrate and validate different runoff generation, water balance, and water erosion models and hillslope and small catchment scale. This allows us to elaborate regional analysis of the effect of different strategies to soil and water conservation in olive growing areas, and to refine these strategies under predicted climate change scenarios in a few decades from now. The models are also used to evaluate historical erosion rates, and the long-term impact of soil erosion on olive yield due to the loss of soil profile. This is our second major line of research. Our their key line of research is the analysis of gully erosion processes, from field based observation to evaluation at regional scale, and the development of cost-effective strategies for gully control at farm scale. This includes the testing of some of these strategies with farmers. We integrate the use of vegetation in gully erosion control strategies to enhance biodiversity and landscape values; both severely degraded in many agricultural areas in the Mediterranean. The fourth, and last, major line of research is the development or improvement of technologies for soil erosion studies. Among them is the use of rainfall simulations, laboratory flumes, photoreconstruction techniques for 3D model, improved sampling devices, etc. Within this line we have improved the use of sediment tracers to understand the processes of sediment mobilization within the landscape, or at plot scale. This greatly improves our understanding of erosion processes and the actual effectiveness of erosion control strategies. The results of these lines of research are put together in the form of Good Agricultural Practices, and technical notes, software, for implementation by farmers and technicians working at the fields that are disseminated through seminars, cooperation with government and non-government agencies and other documents such as videos or web sites. In this communication we mention some of the our research in order to highlight the major problems and questions that are faced when trying to develop viable soil and water conservation techniques, specially the need for transdisciplinary research and the cooperation, form the start, with key stakeholders, specially farmers.

Conservation of soil, water and nutrients in surface runoff using riparian plant species.

PubMed

Srivastava, Prabodh; Singh, Shipra

2012-01-01

Three riparian plant species viz. Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Saccharum bengalensis Retz. and Parthenium hysterophorus L. were selected from the riparian zone of Kali river at Aligarh to conduct the surface runoff experiment to compare their conservation efficiencies for soil, water and nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen). Experimental plots were prepared on artificial slopes in botanical garden and on natural slopes on study site. Selected riparian plant species showed the range of conservation values for soil and water from 47.11 to 95.22% and 44.06 to 72.50%, respectively on artificial slope and from 44.53 to 95.33% and 48.36 to 73.15%, respectively on natural slope. Conservation values for phosphorus and nitrogen ranged from 40.83 to 88.89% and 59.78 to 82.22%, respectively on artificial slope and from 50.01 to 90.16% and 68.07 to 85.62%, respectively on natural slope. It was observed that Cynodon dactylon was the most efficient riparian species in conservation of soil, water and nutrients in surface runoff.

Practicing Conservation Agriculture to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change in Jordan.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khresat, Saeb

2016-04-01

Climate change scenarios indicate that Jordan and the Middle East could suffer from reduced agricultural productivity and water availability among other negative impacts. Based on the projection models for the area, average temperature in Jordan is projected to increase between 1.2 and 1.6 °C by 2050. Projections for precipitation trends are projected to decrease by 16% by the year 2050. Evaporation is likely to increase due to higher temperatures. This is likely to increase the incidence of drought potential since precipitation is projected to decrease. The dominant form of agriculture system in Jordan is based on intensive tillage. This form of tillage has resulted in large losses of organic soil carbon, weaker soil structure, and cause compaction. It has negative effects on soil aeration, root development and water infiltration among other factors. There is a need to transform farming practices to conservation agriculture to sequester carbon so that climate change mitigation becomes an inherent property of future farming systems. Conservation Agriculture, a system avoiding or minimizing soil disturbance, combined with soil cover and crop diversification, is considered to be a sustainable production system that can also sequester carbon unlike tillage agriculture. Conservation agriculture promotes minimal disturbance of the soil by tillage (zero tillage), balanced application of chemical inputs and careful management of residues and wastes. This study was conducted to develop a clear understanding of the impacts and benefits of the two most common types of agriculture, traditional tillage agriculture and conservation agriculture with respect to their effects on land productivity and on soil carbon pools. The study results indicated that conservation agriculture contributed to the reduction of the farming systems' greenhouse gas emissions and enhance its role as carbon sinks. Also, it was found that by shifting to conservation agriculture labor cost needed for land preparation through tillage systems decreased by 40-60% as a result of fuel and time-saving in the operations. The mean biological and grain yield by applying conservation agriculture have increased between 14-35% compared to conventional agriculture. It is concluded that there is a correlation between CO2 loss and tillage intensity and that a shift from traditional agriculture to Conservation agriculture can contribute to making agricultural systems more resilient to climate change.

Selected trace metals and organic compounds and bioavailability of selected organic compounds in soils, Hackberry Flat, Tillman County, Oklahoma, 1994-95

USGS Publications Warehouse

Becker, M.F.

1997-01-01

In 1995 the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation acquired a drained wetland in southwest Oklahoma known as Hackberry Flat. Following restoration by Wildlife Conservation the wetland will be used by migratory birds and waterfowl. If naturally occurring trace metals and residual organic compounds from agriculture and industry were present, they may have posed a potential biohazard and were a concern for Wildlife Conservation. The U. S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma Geological Survey, examined the soils of Hackberry Flat to determine trace metal concentrations, presence of selected organic compounds, and the bioavailability of selected organic compounds in the soils. The purpose of this report is to present the data that establish the baseline concentrations of selected trace metals and organic compounds in the soils of Hackberry Flat prior to wetland restoration. Sampling and analysis were performed using two approaches. One was to collect soil samples and analyze the composition with standard laboratory practices. The second exposed composite soils samples to organic-free water and a semipermeable membrane device that mimics an organism and then analyzed the device. Ten soil samples were collected in 1994 to be analyzed for trace metals, organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Soil samples tested for bioavailability of selected organic compounds were collected in 1995. Most of the 182 soil samples collected were from the center of every 40-acre quarter-quarter section owned by the Wildlife Conservation. The samples were grouped by geographical area with a maximum of 16 sample sites per group. Concentrations of most selected trace metals measured from soils in Hackberry Flat are within the range of mean concentrations measured in cultivated soils within the United States. Organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons were not found at concentrations above the analytical detection levels and, if present, in the soil samples are at concentrations below the detection level of the analytical method used. Organochlorine pesticides, total polychlorinated biphenyls, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons were not detected in any of the semipermeable membrane devices at the analytical detection levels.

7 CFR 14.5 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... purpose of conserving soil and water resources, protecting or restoring the environment, improving forests... payments. If a payment is made for several purposes, it may be considered as having soil and water conservation, environmental protection or restoration, forestry improvement, or providing wildlife habitat as...

7 CFR 14.5 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... purpose of conserving soil and water resources, protecting or restoring the environment, improving forests... payments. If a payment is made for several purposes, it may be considered as having soil and water conservation, environmental protection or restoration, forestry improvement, or providing wildlife habitat as...

7 CFR 14.5 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... purpose of conserving soil and water resources, protecting or restoring the environment, improving forests... payments. If a payment is made for several purposes, it may be considered as having soil and water conservation, environmental protection or restoration, forestry improvement, or providing wildlife habitat as...

7 CFR 14.5 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... purpose of conserving soil and water resources, protecting or restoring the environment, improving forests... payments. If a payment is made for several purposes, it may be considered as having soil and water conservation, environmental protection or restoration, forestry improvement, or providing wildlife habitat as...

EFFECTIVENESS OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICES FOR POLLUTION CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

The potential water quality effects and economic implications of soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) are identified. Method for estimating the effects of SWCPs on pollutant losses from croplands are presented. Mathematical simulation and linear programming models were u...

Valuing soil conservation benefits of agroforestry: contour hedgerows in the Eastern Visayas, Philippines

Treesearch

Subhrendu Patanayak; D. Evan Mercer

1998-01-01

Trecs can he considered as investments made by economic agents to prevent depreciation of natural assets such as stocks of top soil and water. In agroforestq systems farmers use trees in this manner by deliberately combining them with agricultural crops on the same unit of land. Although advocates of agroforestry have asserted that soil conservation is one of its...

7 CFR 610.2 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation Operations § 610.2 Scope. (a) Conservation operations, including technical assistance, is the basic soil and water conservation program of...

7 CFR 610.2 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation Operations § 610.2 Scope. (a) Conservation operations, including technical assistance, is the basic soil and water conservation program of...

7 CFR 610.2 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation Operations § 610.2 Scope. (a) Conservation operations, including technical assistance, is the basic soil and water conservation program of...

7 CFR 610.2 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation Operations § 610.2 Scope. (a) Conservation operations, including technical assistance, is the basic soil and water conservation program of...

Fine sediment sources in conservation effects assessment project watersheds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two naturally occurring radionuclides, 7Be and 210Pbxs , were used as tracers to discriminate eroded surface soils from channel-derived sediments in the fine suspended sediment loads of eight Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) benchmark watersheds. Precipitation, source soils, and suspe...

49 CFR 1105.7 - Environmental reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Park Service; (9) The U.S. Soil Conservation Service; (10) The National Geodetic Survey (formerly known... plans. Describe any inconsistencies. (ii) Based on consultation with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service... transported, identify: the materials and quantity; the frequency of service; whether chemicals are being...

7 CFR 633.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... organized pursuant to applicable State law to promote and undertake actions for the conservation of soil... the United States Department of Agriculture, formerly called the Soil Conservation Service. Operator... and improvement of water quality; (3) Attenuation of water flows due to flooding; (4) The recharge of...

7 CFR 633.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... organized pursuant to applicable State law to promote and undertake actions for the conservation of soil... the United States Department of Agriculture, formerly called the Soil Conservation Service. Operator... and improvement of water quality; (3) Attenuation of water flows due to flooding; (4) The recharge of...

Extrapolating effects of conservation tillage on yield, soil moisture and dry spell mitigation using simulation modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mkoga, Z. J.; Tumbo, S. D.; Kihupi, N.; Semoka, J.

There is big effort to disseminate conservation tillage practices in Tanzania. Despite wide spread field demonstrations there has been some field experiments meant to assess and verify suitability of the tillage options in local areas. Much of the experiments are short lived and thus long term effects of the tillage options are unknown. Experiments to study long term effects of the tillage options are lacking because they are expensive and cannot be easily managed. Crop simulation models have the ability to use long term weather data and the local soil parameters to assess long term effects of the tillage practices. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) crop simulation model; was used to simulate long term production series of soil moisture and grain yield based on the soil and weather conditions in Mkoji sub-catchment of the great Ruaha river basin in Tanzania. A 24 year simulated maize yield series based on conventional tillage with ox-plough, without surface crop residues (CT) treatment was compared with similar yield series based on conservation tillage (ox-ripping, with surface crop residues (RR)). Results showed that predicted yield averages were significantly higher in conservation tillage than in conventional tillage ( P < 0.001). Long term analysis, using APSIM simulation model, showed that average soil moisture in the conservation tillage was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) (about 0.29 mm/mm) than in conventional tillage (0.22 mm/mm) treatment during the seasons which received rainfall between 468 and 770 mm. Similarly the conservation tillage treatment recorded significantly higher yields (4.4 t/ha) ( P < 0.01) than the conventional tillage (3.6 t/ha) treatment in the same range of seasonal rainfall. On the other hand there was no significant difference in soil moisture for the seasons which received rainfall above 770 mm. In these seasons grain yield in conservation tillage treatment was significantly lower (3.1 kg/ha) than in the conventional tillage treatment (4.8 kg/ha) ( P < 0.05). Results also indicated a probability of 0.5 of getting higher yield in conservation than in conventional tillage practice. The conservation tillage treatment had the ability to even-out the acute and long intra-seasonal dry spells. For example a 36-days agricultural dry spell which occurred between 85th and 130th day after planting in the 1989/1990 season (in the CT treatment) was mitigated to zero days in the RR treatment by maintaining soil moisture above the critical point. Critical soil moisture for maize was measured at 0.55 of maximum soil moisture that can be depleted crop (0.55 D). It is concluded that conservation tillage practice where ripping and surface crop residues is used is much more effective in mitigating dry spells and increase productivity in a seasonal rainfall range of between 460 and 770 mm. It is recommended that farmers in the area adopt that type of conservation tillage because rainfall was in this range (460-770 mm) in 12 out of the past 24 years, indicating possibility of yield losses once in every 2 years.

Effects of terracing on soil and water conservation in China: A meta-analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Die; Wei, Wei

2017-04-01

Terracing has long been considered a powerful strategy for soil and water conservation. However, the efficiency is limited by many factors, such as climate, soil properties, topography, land use, population and socioeconomic status. The aim of this critical review was to discuss the effects of terracing on soil and water conservation in China, using a systematic approach to select peer-reviewed articles published in English and Chinese. 46 individual studies were analyzed, involving six terracing structures (level terraces, slope-separated terraces, slope terraces, reverse-slope terraces, fanya juu terraces and half-moon terraces), a wide geographical range (Northeastern China, Southeastern hilly areas, Southwestern mountain areas and Northwestern-central China), and six land use types (forest, crop trees, cropland, shrub land, grassland and bare land) as well as a series of slope gradients ranging from 3° to 35°. Statistical meta-analysis with runoff for 593 observations and sediment for 636 observations confirmed that terracing had a significant effect on water erosion control. In terms of different terrace structures, runoff and sediment reduction were uppermost on slope-separated terraces. Land use in terraces also played a crucial role in the efficiency of conservation, and tree crops and forest were detected as the most powerful land covers in soil and water conservation due to large aboveground biomass and strong root systems below the ground, which directly reduces the pressure of terraces on rainwater redistribution. In addition, a significant positive correlation between slope gradients (3° 15° and 16° 35°) and terracing efficiency on soil and water conservation was observed. This study revealed the effectiveness and variation of terracing on water erosion control on the national scale, which can serve as a scientific basis to land managers and decision-makers.

Should soil testing services measure soil biological activity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Health of agricultural soils depends largely on conservation management to promote soil organic C accumulation. Total soil organic C changes slowly, but active fractions are more dynamic. A key indicator of healthy soil is potential biological activity, which could be measured rapidly with soil te...

Detecting water yield variability due to the small proportional land use and land cover changes in a watershed on the Loess Plateau, China

Treesearch

S. Wang; Z. Zhang; G. Sun; S.G. McNulty; M. Zhang

2009-01-01

Soil conservation practices have been widely implemented on the Loess Plateau to reduce severe soil erosion in north-central China over the past three decades. However, the hydrologic impacts of these practices are not well documented and understood. The objective of this study was to examine how water yield has changed after implementing soil conservation practices...

Fall conservation deep tillage stabilizes maize residues into soil organic matter

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Efforts for increasing soil organic matter (SOM) content under agricultural systems have primarily focused on management practices that reduce exposure of SOM to decomposition via minimum tillage. We assess an alternative approach, termed ‘fall conservation deep tillage’ (FCDT), to SOM stabilization...

Ground-water levels in the alluvial aquifer in Eastern Arkansas, 1989

USGS Publications Warehouse

Westerfield, P.W.; Baxter, C.R.

1990-01-01

This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and local Conservation Districts, contains groundwater level measurements of 504 wells that tap the alluvial aquifer in the Quaternary deposits of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The measurements were made by district Soil Conservation Service personnel during 1989. The shallowest prepumping season water levels occurred in Clay, Greene, Independence, Mississippi, Phillips, and Randolph Counties where water levels averaged less than 20 ft below the land surface. The deepest water levels occurred in Arkansas, Lonoke, Poinsett, and Prairie Counties where water levels of more than 100 ft were measured. Water levels in the postpumping season averaged about 2.5 ft lower than during the prepumping season. (USGS)

[Estimation on value of water and soil conservation of agricultural ecosystems in Xi' an metropolitan, Northwest China].

PubMed

Yang, Wen-yan; Zhou, Zhong-xue

2014-12-01

With the urban eco-environment increasingly deteriorating, the ecosystem services provided by modern urban agriculture are exceedingly significant to maintain and build more suitable environment in a city. Taking Xi' an metropolitan as the study area, based on remote sensing data, DEM data and the economic and social statistics data, the water and soil conservation service of the agricultural ecosystems was valued employing the remote sensing and geographic information system method, covering the reduction values on land waste, soil fertility loss and sediment loss from 2000 to 2011, and analyzed its changes in time and space. The results showed that during the study period, the total value of water and soil conservation service provided by agricultural systems in Xi' an metropolitan was increased by 46,086 and 33.008 billion yuan respectively from period of 2000 to 2005 and from 2005 to 2011. The cultivated land (including grains, vegetables and other farming land), forest (including orchard) and grassland provided higher value on the water and soil conservation service than waters and other land use. Ecosystem service value of water and soil conserva- tion provided by agriculture was gradually decreasing from the southern to the northern in Xi' an metropolitan. There were significantly positive relationship between the ecosystem service value and the vegetation coverage. Forest, orchard and grassland distributed intensively in the southern which had higher vegetation coverage than in northern where covered by more cultivated land, sparse forest and scattered orchard. There were significantly negative correlation between the urbanization level and the value of water and soil conservation. The higher level of urbanization, the lower value there was from built-up area to suburban and to countryside within Xi' an metropolitan.

Prioritization of catchments based on soil erosion using remote sensing and GIS.

PubMed

Khadse, Gajanan K; Vijay, Ritesh; Labhasetwar, Pawan K

2015-06-01

Water and soil are the most essential natural resources for socioeconomic development and sustenance of life. A study of soil and water dynamics at a watershed level facilitates a scientific approach towards their conservation and management. Remote sensing and Geographic Information System are tools that help to plan and manage natural resources on watershed basis. Studies were conducted for the formulation of catchment area treatment plan based on watershed prioritization with soil erosion studies using remote sensing techniques, corroborated with Geographic Information System (GIS), secondary data and ground truth information. Estimation of runoff and sediment yield is necessary in prioritization of catchment for the design of soil conservation structures and for identifying the critical erosion-prone areas of a catchment for implementation of best management plan with limited resources. The Universal Soil Loss Equation, Sediment Yield Determination and silt yield index methods are used for runoff and soil loss estimation for prioritization of the catchments. On the basis of soil erosion classes, the watersheds were grouped into very high, high, moderate and low priorities. High-priority watersheds need immediate attention for soil and water conservation, whereas low-priority watershed having good vegetative cover and low silt yield index may not need immediate attention for such treatments.

7 CFR 634.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... portion of the 208 water-quality management plan. (s) OMB Circular A-34. “Instructions on Budget Execution... needed to attain water quality standards or water quality goals. Fifty (50) percent of the adequate level... agency. A soil conservation district, State soil and water conservation agency, or State water quality...

Integrated watershed management for saturation excess generated runoff, erosion and nutrient control

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding the basic hydrology and erosion is vital for effective management and utilization of water resources and soil conservation planning. An important question for judging effectiveness of soil and water conservation practices is whether runoff erosion and nutrient loss is affected by infil...

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION POLICY APPROACHES IN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, AND AUSTRALIA. (R825761)

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract

Soil and water conservation policies and programs in developed countries in North America, Europe, and Australia are examined in the context of their effectiveness for addressing environmental degradation associated with technology-intensive agricultural syste...

7 CFR 634.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... portion of the 208 water-quality management plan. (s) OMB Circular A-34. “Instructions on Budget Execution... needed to attain water quality standards or water quality goals. Fifty (50) percent of the adequate level... agency. A soil conservation district, State soil and water conservation agency, or State water quality...

Conservation agriculture improves yield and reduces weeding activity in sandy soils of Cambodia

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Intensive tillage in many less-developed countries, including Cambodia have caused significant decline in agriculture’s natural resources and sustainability. With limited available data, long-term conventional tillage system (CT) and conservation agriculture system (CA) can affect changes in soil pr...

Soil Conservation. A Guide to Classroom and Field Activities for Middle Secondary Students. Teacher Manual and Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tivendale, Bruce D.

Soil is a natural resource of inestimable value. It is classified as a renewable resource, but because it may take from a few hundred years to a few thousand years to be renewed, it is more accurately termed an exhaustible resource. The emphasis of this teaching unit is the importance of soil and the need and means to conserve it. The constraining…

The effects of one-time inversion tillage on soil physical properties after long-term reduced tillage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhwald, Michael; Augustin, Katja; Duttmann, Rainer

2017-04-01

The positive effects of reduced tillage on soil stability and on various soil functions such as infiltrability or saturated hydraulic conductivity are known in general. However, long-term employment of conservation tillage can increase weed pressure, damage by mice and soil compaction. Thus, the application of one-time inversion tillage (occasional or strategic tillage) is customarily used as a method for overcoming these drawbacks. Hitherto, the effects of one-time inversion tillage on soil physical properties have not been investigated. This study focuses on analysing whether the improved soil physical properties derived by long-term reduced tillage remain after one-time inversion tillage by mouldboard plough. The study was carried out in a 5.5 ha field in the southern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1996, this field has been subdivided into three plots, one managed conventionally by using a mouldboard plough (CT), while in the others a chisel plough (RT1) and a disk harrow (RT2) were employed. In October 2014, the entire field was ploughed by mouldboard plough to a depth of 30 cm. During the following year, four field studies were conducted to analyse the effects of this one-time inversion tillage on volumetric soil water content, bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity and infiltration rate. Additionally, penetration resistance measurements taken across the entire field were interpolated by kriging to analyse the spatial distribution of soil characteristics. The surveys of RT1 and RT2 were compared with CT and with analyses conducted before the one-time inversion tillage. This study shows that positive effects of long-term conservation tillage on several soil physical characteristics still remain after one-time mouldboard ploughing. Throughout the entire cropping season, the topsoil tilled under former conservation tillage practices revealed significantly higher (p < 0.05) values of saturated hydraulic conductivities and infiltration rates compared to the plot that experienced continuously conventional tillage. Moreover, field-wide measuring of penetration resistance indicated the removal of the compaction zone developed under conservation tillage in soil depths between 10 and 20 cm. After mouldboard ploughing, penetration resistance in the topsoil was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in both plots, showing the same order of magnitude as measured in the conventionally managed plot. The results of this study suggest that one-time inversion tillage with a mouldboard plough offers a suitable management option for overcoming some of the main disadvantages associated with long-term conservation tillage, while conserving the improved soil physical properties and functions.

Remote sensing as a tool for estimating soil erosion potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris-Jones, D. R.; Morgan, K. M.; Kiefer, R. W.

1979-01-01

The Universal Soil Loss Equation is a frequently used methodology for estimating soil erosion potential. The Universal Soil Loss Equation requires a variety of types of geographic information (e.g. topographic slope, soil erodibility, land use, crop type, and soil conservation practice) in order to function. This information is traditionally gathered from topographic maps, soil surveys, field surveys, and interviews with farmers. Remote sensing data sources and interpretation techniques provide an alternative method for collecting information regarding land use, crop type, and soil conservation practice. Airphoto interpretation techniques and medium altitude, multi-date color and color infrared positive transparencies (70mm) were utilized in this study to determine their effectiveness for gathering the desired land use/land cover data. Successful results were obtained within the test site, a 6136 hectare watershed in Dane County, Wisconsin.

Agricultural conservation planning framework: 1. Developing multi-practice watershed planning scenarios and assessing nutrient reduction potential

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We show that spatial data on soils, land use, and high-resolution topography, combined with knowledge of conservation practice effectiveness, can be leveraged to identify and assess alternatives to reduce nutrient discharge from small (HUC12) agricultural watersheds. Databases comprising soil attrib...

78 FR 8444 - Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program Programmatic Environmental Assessment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-06

... Recipients' service territories (Ultimate Recipients) for EE improvements at the Ultimate Recipients... area of previous disturbance, but a review of National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soils maps shows that the Ultimate Recipient's premises is not within a hydric soil unit which is one of the three...

Ground-water levels in the alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 1988

USGS Publications Warehouse

Westerfield, P.W.; Baxter, C.R.

1990-01-01

This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, and local Conservation Districts, contains groundwater level measurements of 509 wells that tap the alluvial aquifer in the Quaternary deposits of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The measurements were made by district Soil Conservation Service personnel during 1988. The shallowest prepumping season water levels occurred in Ashley, Clay, Greene, Mississippi, Phillips, and Randolph Counties where water levels averaged less than 20 ft below the land surface. The deepest water levels occurred in Arkansas, Lonoke, Poinsett, and Prairie Counties where water levels of more than 100 ft below land surface were measured. Water levels in the postpumping season averaged about 4.1 ft lower than during the prepumping season. (USGS)

New findings and setting the research agenda for soil and water conservation for sustainable land management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keesstra, Saskia; Argaman, Eli; Gomez, Jose Alfonso; Quinton, John

2014-05-01

The session on soil and water conservation for sustainable land management provides insights into the current research producing viable measures for sustainable land management and enhancing the lands role as provider of ecosystem services. The insights into degradation processes are essential for designing and implementing feasible measures to mitigate against degradation of the land resource and adapt to the changing environment. Land degradation occurs due to multiple pressures on the land, such as population growth, land-use and land-cover changes, climate change and over exploitation of resources, often resulting in soil erosion due to water and wind, which occurs in many parts of the world. Understanding the processes of soil erosion by wind and water and the social and economic constraints faced by farmers forms an essential component of integrated land development projects. Soil and water conservation measures are only viable and sustainable if local environmental and socio-economic conditions are taken into account and proper enabling conditions and policies can be achieved. Land degradation increasingly occurs because land use, and farming systems are subject to rapid environmental and socio-economic changes without implementation of appropriate soil and water conservation technologies. Land use and its management are thus inextricably bound up with development; farmers must adapt in order to sustain the quality of their, and their families, lives. In broader perspective, soil and water conservation is needed as regulating ecosystem service and as a tool to enhance food security and biodiversity. Since land degradation occurs in many parts of the world and threatens food production and environmental stability it affects those countries with poorer soils and resilience in the agriculture sector first. Often these are the least developed countries. Therefore the work from researchers from developing countries together with knowledge from other disciplines and places is essential if we are to develop viable measures and approaches to soil and water conservation across the globe. In this paper we will provide an overview of the topics that are addressed in this session and give an overview of the current research in this field and using the insights we will aim to present a new research agenda oriented towards a significant impact in economic and environmental sustainability.

A comparison among root soil-conservation effects for nine herbs at the cold region highway in north-eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, W.; Wang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, Y.

2014-12-01

High soil-conservation herbs are very important for slope vegetation restoration of a highway in serious sandstorm regions. In this study, nine common herbs in northeast China were selected and compared to study soil-conservation effects by using an undisturbed-soil trough scouring method for soil anti-scourability enhancement and hydrostatic collapse method for soil anti-erodibility. Further, principal components analysis was used to identify significant root features that affected soil erosion resistance. Results indicated that different herbs had distinct enhancement effects on soil erosion resistance. Soil anti-scourability enhancement index decreased with increases of soil depth, slope gradient and rainfall amount. Relationship between soil anti-erodibility enhancement index ( S) and immersion time ( t) is a cubic spline in each different herb type ( R 2 ≥ 0.88). Herb root features such as micro-aggregates, organic matter, net leaf weight, thick root length, fine root length and biomass contributed a leading role in soil erosion resistance enhancement effect, and all their common factor variances were more than 0.81. Descending order of soil erosion resistance enhancement effect in soil anti-scourability for nine herbs is Poa pratensis, Medicago sativa, Viola philippica, Rudbeckia hirta, Clematis heracleifolia, Kalimeris indica, Cosmos bipinnata, Hemerocallis fulva and Sedum elatinoides, while the sequence of soil anti-erodibility is M. sativa, S. elatinoides, P. pratensis, R. hirta, H. fulva, V. philippica, C. heracleifolia, C. bipinnata and K. indica. Therefore, we concluded that P. pratensis and M. sativa were the most suitable herbs for resisting soil erosion and recommended to be widely planted for road vegetation recovery in this region.

Status and trends in suspended-sediment discharges, soil erosion, and conservation tillage in the Maumee River basin--Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Myers, Donna N.; Metzker, Kevin D.; Davis, Steven

2000-01-01

The relation of suspended-sediment discharges to conservation-tillage practices and soil loss were analyzed for the Maumee River Basin in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana as part of the U.S. Geological Survey?s National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Cropland in the basin is the largest contributor to soil erosion and suspended-sediment discharge to the Maumee River and the river is the largest source of suspended sediments to Lake Erie. Retrospective and recently-collected data from 1970-98 were used to demonstrate that increases in conservation tillage and decreases in soil loss can be related to decreases in suspended-sediment discharge from streams. Average annual water and suspended-sediment budgets computed for the Maumee River Basin and its principal tributaries indicate that soil drainage and runoff potential, stream slope, and agricultural land use are the major human and natural factors related to suspended-sediment discharge. The Tiffin and St. Joseph Rivers drain areas of moderately to somewhat poorly drained soils with moderate runoff potential. Expressed as a percentage of the total for the Maumee River Basin, the St. Joseph and Tiffin Rivers represent 29.0 percent of the basin area, 30.7 percent of the average-annual streamflow, and 9.31 percent of the average annual suspended-sediment discharge. The Auglaize and St. Marys Rivers drain areas of poorly to very poorly drained soils with high runoff potential. Expressed as a percentage of the total for the Maumee River Basin, the Auglaize and St. Marys Rivers represent 48.7 percent of the total basin area, 53.5 percent of the average annual streamflow, and 46.5 percent of the average annual suspended-sediment discharge. Areas of poorly drained soils with high runoff potential appear to be the major source areas of suspended sediment discharge in the Maumee River Basin. Although conservation tillage differed in the degree of use throughout the basin, on aver-age, it was used on 55.4 percent of all crop fields in the Maumee River Basin from 1993-98. Conservation tillage was used at relatively higher rates in areas draining to the lower main stem from Defiance to Waterville, Ohio and at relatively lower rates in the St. Marys and Auglaize River Basins, and in areas draining to the main stem between New Haven, Ind. and Defiance, Ohio. The areas that were identified as the most important sediment-source areas in the basin were characterized by some of the lowest rates of conservation tillage. The increased use of conservation tillage was found to correspond to decreases in suspended-sediment discharge over time at two locations in the Maumee River Basin. A 49.8 percent decrease in suspended-sediment discharge was detected when data from 1970-74 were compared to data from 1996-98 for the Auglaize River near Ft. Jennings, Ohio. A decrease in suspended-sediment discharge of 11.2 percent was detected from 1970?98 for the Maumee River at Waterville, Ohio. No trends in streamflow at either site were detected over the period 1970-98. The lower rate of decline in suspended-sediment discharge for the Maumee River at Waterville, Ohio compared to the Auglaize River near Ft. Jennings, may be due to resuspension and export of stored sediments from drainage ditches, stream channels, and flood plains in the large drainage basin upstream from Waterville. Similar findings by other investigators about the capacity of drainage networks to store sediment are supported by this investigation. These findings go undetected when soil loss estimates are used alone to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation tillage. Water-quality data in combination with soil-loss estimates were needed to draw these conclusions. These findings provide information to farmers and soil conservation agents about the ability of conservation tillage to reduce soil erosion and suspended-sediment discharge from the Maumee River Basin.

A global predictive model of carbon in mangrove soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jardine, Sunny L.; Siikamäki, Juha V.

2014-10-01

Mangroves are among the most threatened and rapidly vanishing natural environments worldwide. They provide a wide range of ecosystem services and have recently become known for their exceptional capacity to store carbon. Research shows that mangrove conservation may be a low-cost means of reducing CO2 emissions. Accordingly, there is growing interest in developing market mechanisms to credit mangrove conservation projects for associated CO2 emissions reductions. These efforts depend on robust and readily applicable, but currently unavailable, localized estimates of soil carbon. Here, we use over 900 soil carbon measurements, collected in 28 countries by 61 independent studies, to develop a global predictive model for mangrove soil carbon. Using climatological and locational data as predictors, we explore several predictive modeling alternatives, including machine-learning methods. With our predictive model, we construct a global dataset of estimated soil carbon concentrations and stocks on a high-resolution grid (5 arc min). We estimate that the global mangrove soil carbon stock is 5.00 ± 0.94 Pg C (assuming a 1 meter soil depth) and find this stock is highly variable over space. The amount of carbon per hectare in the world’s most carbon-rich mangroves (approximately 703 ± 38 Mg C ha-1) is roughly a 2.6 ± 0.14 times the amount of carbon per hectare in the world’s most carbon-poor mangroves (approximately 272 ± 49 Mg C ha-1). Considerable within country variation in mangrove soil carbon also exists. In Indonesia, the country with the largest mangrove soil carbon stock, we estimate that the most carbon-rich mangroves contain 1.5 ± 0.12 times as much carbon per hectare as the most carbon-poor mangroves. Our results can aid in evaluating benefits from mangrove conservation and designing mangrove conservation policy. Additionally, the results can be used to project changes in mangrove soil carbon stocks based on changing climatological predictors, e.g. to assess the impacts of climate change on mangrove soil carbon stocks.

Effects of soil water holding capacity on evapotranspiration and irrigation scheduling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), through the National Cooperative Soil Survey, developed three soil geographic databases that are appropriate for acquiring soil information at the national, regional, and local scales. These relational databases include the National Soil Geogra...

30 CFR 823.14 - Soil replacement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Soil replacement. 823.14 Section 823.14 Mineral... Soil replacement. (a) Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall be based upon the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and shall include, as a...

30 CFR 823.14 - Soil replacement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Soil replacement. 823.14 Section 823.14 Mineral... Soil replacement. (a) Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall be based upon the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and shall include, as a...

30 CFR 823.14 - Soil replacement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Soil replacement. 823.14 Section 823.14 Mineral... Soil replacement. (a) Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall be based upon the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and shall include, as a...

30 CFR 823.14 - Soil replacement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Soil replacement. 823.14 Section 823.14 Mineral... Soil replacement. (a) Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall be based upon the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and shall include, as a...

30 CFR 823.14 - Soil replacement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Soil replacement. 823.14 Section 823.14 Mineral... Soil replacement. (a) Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall be based upon the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and shall include, as a...

7 CFR 611.11 - Soil survey information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Soil survey information. 611.11 Section 611.11..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.11 Soil survey information. (a) Availability. NRCS disseminates soil survey information to the public by any of the means...

7 CFR 611.11 - Soil survey information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Soil survey information. 611.11 Section 611.11..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.11 Soil survey information. (a) Availability. NRCS disseminates soil survey information to the public by any of the means...

7 CFR 611.11 - Soil survey information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Soil survey information. 611.11 Section 611.11..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.11 Soil survey information. (a) Availability. NRCS disseminates soil survey information to the public by any of the means...

7 CFR 611.11 - Soil survey information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Soil survey information. 611.11 Section 611.11..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.11 Soil survey information. (a) Availability. NRCS disseminates soil survey information to the public by any of the means...

7 CFR 611.11 - Soil survey information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Soil survey information. 611.11 Section 611.11..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS Soil Survey Operations § 611.11 Soil survey information. (a) Availability. NRCS disseminates soil survey information to the public by any of the means...

Multiscale variability of soil aggregate stability: implications for rangeland hydrology and erosion

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation of soil and water resources in rangelands is a crucial step in stopping desertification processes. The formation of water-stable soil aggregates reduces soil erodibility and can increase infiltration capacity in many soils. Soil aggregate stability is highly variable at scales ranging f...

Soil Conservation Service Curve Number method: How to mend a wrong soil moisture accounting procedure?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michel, Claude; Andréassian, Vazken; Perrin, Charles

2005-02-01

This paper unveils major inconsistencies in the age-old and yet efficient Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) procedure. Our findings are based on an analysis of the continuous soil moisture accounting procedure implied by the SCS-CN equation. It is shown that several flaws plague the original SCS-CN procedure, the most important one being a confusion between intrinsic parameter and initial condition. A change of parameterization and a more complete assessment of the initial condition lead to a renewed SCS-CN procedure, while keeping the acknowledged efficiency of the original method.

Subsurface application of manure slurries for conservation tillage and pasture soils and their impact on the nitrogen balance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Manure injection provides for soil incorporation of manures in no-till and perennial forage production. Injection is expected to substantially reduce nitrogen loss due to ammonia volatilization, but a portion of that N conservation may be offset by greater denitrification and leaching losses. This ...

LET'S DEMONSTRATE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION FOR BETTER FARMING, BETTER LIVING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LEYENDECKER, PHILIP J.

EIGHTEEN DEMONSTRATIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION ARE PRESENTED. THESE DEMONSTRATIONS UTILIZE SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT AND ARE SUITABLE FOR CLASSROOM OR OTHER GROUP USE, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE DESIGNED FOR 4-H CLUBS. LISTED ARE THE EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS NEEDED, PREVIOUS PREPARATION, STEPS IN THE DEMONSTRATION, AND…

A proposed NRCS conservation practice standard: Amending soil properties with gypsiferous products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper will discuss the proposed new NRCS conservation practice standard regarding the use of gypsiferous products in agriculture. Gypsiferous products include gypsum (CaSO4 .2H2O), has been used as an agricultural soil amendment for over 250 years as a soluble source of calcium and sulfur for ...

Evaluation of soil and water conservation measures in a semi-arid river basin in Tunisia using SWAT

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Merguellil catchment (Central Tunisia) is a typical Mediterranean semi-arid basin which suffers from regular water shortage aggravated by current droughts. During the recent decades the continuous construction of small and large dams and Soil and Water Conservation Works (i.e. Contour ridges) ha...

Conservation Action Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Rifle Association, Washington, DC.

Conservation problems are identified, with some suggestions for action. General areas covered are: Wildlife Conservation, Soil Conservation, Clean Water, Air Pollution Action, and Outdoor Recreation Action. Appendices list private organizations or agencies concerned with natural resource use and/or management, congressional committees considering…

Soil and water conservation strategies and impact on sustainable livelihood in Cape Verde - Case study of Ribeira Seca watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baptista, I.; Ferreira, A. D.; Tavares, J.; Querido, A. L. E.; Reis, A. E. A.; Geissen, V.; Ritsema, C.; Varela, A.

2012-04-01

Cape Verde, located off the coast of Senegal in western Africa, is a volcanic archipelago where a combination of human, climatic, geomorphologic and pedologic factors has led to extensive degradation of the soils. Like other Sahelian countries, Cape Verde has suffered the effects of desertification through the years, threatening the livelihood of the islands population and its fragile environment. In fact, the steep slopes in the ore agricultural islands, together with semi-arid and arid environments, characterized by an irregular and poorly distributed rainy season, with high intensity rainfall events, make dryland production a challenge. To survive in these fragile conditions, the stabilization of the farming systems and the maintenance of sustainable yields have become absolute priorities, making the islands an erosion control laboratory. Soil and water conservation strategies have been a centerpiece of the government's agricultural policies for the last half century. Aiming to maintain the soil in place and the water inside the soil, the successive governments of Cape Verde have implemented a number of soil and water conservation techniques, the most common ones being terraces, half moons, live barriers, contour rock walls, contour furrows and microcatchments, check dams and reforestation with drought resistant species. The soil and water conservation techniques implemented have contributed to the improvement of the economical and environmental conditions of the treated landscape, making crop production possible, consequently, improving the livelihood of the people living on the islands. In this paper, we survey the existing soil and water conservation techniques, analyze their impact on the livelihood condition of the population through a thorough literature review and field monitoring using a semi-quantitative methodology and evaluate their effectiveness and impact on crop yield in the Ribeira Seca watershed. A brief discussion is given on the cost and effectiveness of the techniques to reduce soil erosion and to promote rainfall infiltration. Finally, we discuss the critical governance factors that lead to the successful implementation of such strategy in a country with scarce natural resources.

The role of soil quality and soil conservation for private gardening in South-West Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teuber, Sandra; Kühn, Peter; Scholten, Thomas

2016-04-01

In the past centuries, agriculture played a major role in the economy of Germany, and private gardening was common practice. With the shift from agriculture to (service-) industry, less people work in their own garden for subsistence purposes and thus are no longer in direct contact with soil. However, the "Kleingarten"- and "Schrebergarten"-movements still exist in Germany, within which gardeners use soil to provide themselves with fruit and vegetables. The gardeners spend their leisure time cultivating the soil, planting, and harvesting. We ask as to whether these gardeners have a specific relation to soil quality and soil conservation, and what it is they associate with soil. Moreover, how do they use soil? Is soil quality assessed prior to planting? How do private gardeners conserve their soil? Interviewer-administered questionnaires were carried out in the respective gardens. Additionally, management practices were observed, and the fertility of the topsoil was measured. The research area is located in South-West Germany between the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura in a rural district. However, the "Kleingärten" investigated belong to the regional centre there and thus developed in an urban context. The theoretical framework of the SFB 1070 ResourceCultures was used for the study. A small portion of the surveyed private gardeners used simple box kits to analyse soil quality. However, the majority relied on experience and traditional knowledge to determine their management practices. This behaviour complicates the establishment of up-to-date knowledge about sustainable soil use like no-till and raised vegetable beds. Many surveyed persons have an agricultural background inasmuch as their (grand-) parents were farmers or at least owned a garden. Soil conservation practices are common, like the use of green manure to prevent the soil from drying out and supplementing soil with compost. Soil pollution is related to the use of chemical fertilizers which many private gardeners try to avoid. However, most people surveyed are neither aware of soil pollution by industry and traffic, nor of the enrichment of pollutants in compost. Generally, the surveyed gardeners, who had a mean age of 66 years, used a different approach to soil than soil scientists. They are in touch with the soil in their garden on a daily basis and therefore analyse it, and changes within it, constantly. The analytical tools which they use seem to be more rooted in traditions than in modern science.

Modeling soil conservation, water conservation and their tradeoffs: a case study in Beijing.

PubMed

Bai, Yang; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Zheng, Hua; Li, Xiaoma; Zhuang, Changwei; Jiang, Bo

2012-01-01

Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With the rapid increase in human populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans frequently enhance the production of some services at the expense of the others. Although the need for tradeoffs between conservation and development is urgent, the lack of efficient methods to assess such tradeoffs has impeded progress. Three land use strategy scenarios (development scenario, plan trend scenario and conservation scenario) were created to forecast potential changes in ecosystem services from 2007 to 2050 in Beijing, China. GIS-based techniques were used to map spatial and temporal distribution and changes in ecosystem services for each scenario. The provision of ecosystem services differed spatially, with significant changes being associated with different scenarios. Scenario analysis of water yield (as average annual yield) and soil retention (as retention rate per unit area) for the period 2007 to 2050 indicated that the highest values for these parameters were predicted for the forest habitat under all three scenarios. Annual yield/retention of forest, shrub, and grassland ranked the highest in the conservation scenario. Total water yield and soil retention increased in the conservation scenario and declined dramatically in the other two scenarios, especially the development scenario. The conservation scenario was the optimal land use strategy, resulting in the highest soil retention and water yield. Our study suggests that the evaluation and visualization of ecosystem services can effectively assist in understanding the tradeoffs between conservation and development. Results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, which can be integrated into land use decision-making.

Hydrologic data for Cow Bayou, Brazos River Basin, Texas, 1975

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mitchell, R.N.; Wehmeyer, E.E.

1977-01-01

The U.S. Soil Conservation Service is actively engaged in the implementation of flood- and soil-erosion reducing measures in Texas under the authority of. "The Flood Control Act of 1936 and 1944" and "Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act" (Public Law 566), as amended. The Soil Conservation Service has found a total of approximately 3,500 floodwater~retarding structures to be physically and economically feasible in Texas. As of September 30, 1975, 1,680 of these structures had been built.

Awareness and Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Technologies in a Developing Country: A Case of Nabajuzi Watershed in Central Uganda

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kagoya, Sarah; Paudel, Krishna P.; Daniel, Nadhomi L.

2018-02-01

Soil and water conservation technologies have been widely available in most parts of Uganda. However, not only has the adoption rate been low but also many farmers seem not to be aware of these technologies. This study aims at identifying the factors that influence awareness and adoption of soil and water conservation technologies in Nabajuzi watershed in central Uganda. A bivariate probit model was used to examine farmers' awareness and adoption of soil and water conservation technologies in the watershed. We use data collected from the interview of 400 households located in the watershed to understand the factors affecting the awareness and adoption of these technologies in the study area. Findings indicate that the likelihood of being aware and adopting the technologies are explained by the age of household head, being a tenant, and number of years of access to farmland. To increase awareness and adoption of technologies in Uganda, policymakers may expedite the process of land titling as farmers may feel secure about landholding and thus adopt these technologies to increase profitability and productivity in the long run. Incentive payments to farmers residing in the vulnerable region to adopt these considered technologies may help to alleviate soil deterioration problems in the affected area.

Awareness and Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Technologies in a Developing Country: A Case of Nabajuzi Watershed in Central Uganda.

PubMed

Kagoya, Sarah; Paudel, Krishna P; Daniel, Nadhomi L

2018-02-01

Soil and water conservation technologies have been widely available in most parts of Uganda. However, not only has the adoption rate been low but also many farmers seem not to be aware of these technologies. This study aims at identifying the factors that influence awareness and adoption of soil and water conservation technologies in Nabajuzi watershed in central Uganda. A bivariate probit model was used to examine farmers' awareness and adoption of soil and water conservation technologies in the watershed. We use data collected from the interview of 400 households located in the watershed to understand the factors affecting the awareness and adoption of these technologies in the study area. Findings indicate that the likelihood of being aware and adopting the technologies are explained by the age of household head, being a tenant, and number of years of access to farmland. To increase awareness and adoption of technologies in Uganda, policymakers may expedite the process of land titling as farmers may feel secure about landholding and thus adopt these technologies to increase profitability and productivity in the long run. Incentive payments to farmers residing in the vulnerable region to adopt these considered technologies may help to alleviate soil deterioration problems in the affected area.

Microbial Community Structure and Enzyme Activities in Semiarid Agricultural Soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acosta-Martinez, V. A.; Zobeck, T. M.; Gill, T. E.; Kennedy, A. C.

2002-12-01

The effect of agricultural management practices on the microbial community structure and enzyme activities of semiarid soils of different textures in the Southern High Plains of Texas were investigated. The soils (sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam and loam) were under continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) or in rotations with peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) or wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and had different water management (irrigated or dryland) and tillage (conservation or conventional). Microbial community structure was investigated using fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis by gas chromatography and enzyme activities, involved in C, N, P and S cycling of soils, were measured (mg product released per kg soil per h). The activities of b-glucosidase, b-glucosaminidase, alkaline phosphatase, and arylsulfatase were significantly (P<0.05) increased in soils under cotton rotated with sorghum or wheat, and due to conservation tillage in comparison to continuous cotton under conventional tillage. Principal component analysis showed FAME profiles of these soils separated distinctly along PC1 (20 %) and PC2 (13 %) due to their differences in soil texture and management. No significant differences were detected in FAME profiles due to management practices for the same soils in this sampling period. Enzyme activities provide early indications of the benefits in microbial populations and activities and soil organic matter under crop rotations and conservation tillage in comparison to the typical practices in semiarid regions of continuous cotton and conventional tillage.

Evaluating Microbial Purification during Soil Treatment of Wastewater with Multicomponent Tracer and Surrogate Tests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Cuyk, S.; Siegrist, R.L.; Lowe, K.; Harvey, R.W.

2004-01-01

Soil treatment of wastewater has the potential to achieve high purification efficiency, yet the understanding and predictability of purification with respect to removal of viruses and other pathogens is limited. Research has been completed to quantify the removal of virus and bacteria through the use of microbial surrogates and conservative tracers during controlled experiments with three-dimensional pilot-scale soil treatment systems in the laboratory and during the testing of full-scale systems under field conditions. The surrogates and tracers employed included two viruses (MS-2 and PRID-1 bacteriophages), one bacterium (ice-nucleating active Pseudomonas), and one conservative tracer (bromide ion). Efforts have also been made to determine the relationship between viruses and fecal coliform bacteria in soil samples below the wastewater infiltrative surface, and the correlation between Escherichia coil concentrations measured in percolating soil solution as compared with those estimated from analyses of soil solids. The results suggest episodic breakthrough of virus and bacteria during soil treatment of wastewater and a 2 to 3 log (99-99.9%) removal of virus and near complete removal of fecal coliform bacteria during unsaturated flow through 60 to 90 cm of sandy medium. Results also suggest that the fate of fecal coliform bacteria may be indicative of that of viruses in soil media near the infiltrative surface receiving wastewater effluent. Concentrations of fecal coliform in percolating soil solution may be conservatively estimated from analysis of extracted soil solids.

77 FR 12234 - Changes in Hydric Soils Database Selection Criteria

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-29

... Conservation Service [Docket No. NRCS-2011-0026] Changes in Hydric Soils Database Selection Criteria AGENCY... Changes to the National Soil Information System (NASIS) Database Selection Criteria for Hydric Soils of the United States. SUMMARY: The National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTCHS) has updated the...

Fall cover crops boost soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi which can lead to reduced inputs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fall cover crops provide multiple benefits to producers. These benefits include pathogen and pest protection, drought protection, weed control, reduced soil erosion, nutrient acquisition and retention, increased soil organic matter, and conservation of soil water by improvement of soil structure th...

Introductory Soil Science Exercises Using USDA Web Soil Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Post, Christopher J.; Mikhailova, Elena; McWhorter, Christopher M.

2007-01-01

The USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Web Soil Survey is a valuable teaching tool for soil science education. By incorporating the Web Soil Survey into an undergraduate-level course, students are able to use the most detailed digital soil survey information without the steep learning curve associated with geographic information…

Impacts of biofuel expansion on soil quality and carbon dynamics in a central Iowa watershed

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Crop residues (plant litter) on the soil surface helps decrease soil erosion, increase water infiltration, increase soil organic matter, and improve soil quality. Thus, management of crop residues is an integral part of most conservation tillage systems. Crop residue cover is used to classify soil t...

7 CFR 614.3 - Decisions subject to informal appeal procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...) Soil and Water Conservation Program; (iv) Water Bank Program; (v) Watershed Protection and Flood... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS NRCS APPEAL PROCEDURES § 614.3... technical determinations made with respect to: (1) Conservation programs and regulatory requirements...

7 CFR 614.3 - Decisions subject to informal appeal procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) Soil and Water Conservation Program; (iv) Water Bank Program; (v) Watershed Protection and Flood... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS NRCS APPEAL PROCEDURES § 614.3... technical determinations made with respect to: (1) Conservation programs and regulatory requirements...

Atlantic City Area Wetlands Review. Volume 1. Overview and Conclusions

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-01-01

1.2.2 Soil Characteristics...91 5.3.3.2 Soil Conservation Committee........................................................ .... .......... 91 5.3.4...Area ....................................................................... 2 Figure 1-2 Typical Study Area Soil Patterns

Soil and Water Conservation Activities for Scouts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

The purpose of the learning activities outlined in this booklet is to help Scouts understand some conservation principles which hopefully will lead to the development of an attitude of concern for the environment and a commitment to help with the task of using and managing soil, water, and other natural resources for long range needs as well as…

Soil Conservation Unit for the Advanced Crop Production and Marketing Course. Instructor's Guide. AGDEX 570.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Bob R.; And Others

This instructor's guide contains eight lesson plans for teaching soil conservation in accordance with the Missouri State Board of Education's Vocational Instructional Management System. To make the unit easier for teachers to use, the following materials are provided in the front of the unit: objectives and competencies for each lesson, a…

Positive impacts in soil and water conservation in an Andean region of South America: Case scenarios from a USAID multidisciplinary cooperative project

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USAID-SANREM-Virginia Polytechnic Institute project has made and continues to make an excellent impact, specifically showcasing the positive results of soil and water conservation (Barrera et al. 2010a; 2010b). This project has strong international cooperation between the USA, Ecuador and Bolivi...

Free and Inexpensive Materials Available for Teaching Conservation Education: Soil and Water.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cousins, Genevieve; Smith, Bonnie Mae

This publication was prepared to accompany the revised "Soil and Water Section" of "Guides for Teacher Conservation in the Schools of Louisiana." Its purpose is to provide teachers with information about possible sources of teaching materials that can be obtained free or with only a small expenditure of funds. Each item listed…

Potential adherence of gypsum to forage as a consideration for excessive ingestion by ruminates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4•2H2O) has long been used in agriculture to improve soils and crop production and its use has recently been encouraged by the USDA NRCS for soil conservation through a new National Conservation Practice Standard: Code 333. However, there is concern regarding ...

Soil conservation service tests of Eucalyptus species for windbreaks

Treesearch

Gary L. Young

1983-01-01

The Soil Conservation Service is in the early stages of testing many species of Eucalyptus or windbreaks. Over 260 different species have been collected. The pre-planting selection criteria and process is described as well as the test conditions and procedures. Some sources of information on the use of the Eucalypts may be misleading through...

Farmer Perceptions of Soil and Water Conservation Issues: Implications to Agricultural and Extension Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruening, Thomas; Martin, Robert A.

1992-01-01

A survey of 731 Iowa farmers received 432 responses indicating that (1) groundwater and water quality were of greater concern than soil conservation; (2) field demonstrations and county meetings were useful information sources on these issues; and (3) government agencies such as cooperative extension and state universities were useful sources of…

7 CFR 600.9 - Major land resource area soil survey offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Major land resource area soil survey offices. 600.9... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 600.9 Major land resource area soil... soil survey production. Major land resource area soil survey offices (MO) provide the technical...

7 CFR 600.9 - Major land resource area soil survey offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Major land resource area soil survey offices. 600.9... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 600.9 Major land resource area soil... soil survey production. Major land resource area soil survey offices (MO) provide the technical...

7 CFR 600.9 - Major land resource area soil survey offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Major land resource area soil survey offices. 600.9... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 600.9 Major land resource area soil... soil survey production. Major land resource area soil survey offices (MO) provide the technical...

7 CFR 600.9 - Major land resource area soil survey offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Major land resource area soil survey offices. 600.9... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 600.9 Major land resource area soil... soil survey production. Major land resource area soil survey offices (MO) provide the technical...

7 CFR 600.9 - Major land resource area soil survey offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Major land resource area soil survey offices. 600.9... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 600.9 Major land resource area soil... soil survey production. Major land resource area soil survey offices (MO) provide the technical...

Assessment of Micro-Basin Tillage as a Soil and Water Conservation Practice in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China.

PubMed

Sui, Yuanyuan; Ou, Yang; Yan, Baixing; Xu, Xiaohong; Rousseau, Alain N; Zhang, Yu

2016-01-01

Micro-basin tillage is a soil and water conservation practice that requires building individual earth blocks along furrows. In this study, plot experiments were conducted to assess the efficiency of micro-basin tillage on sloping croplands between 2012 and 2013 (5°and 7°). The conceptual, optimal, block interval model was used to design micro-basins which are meant to capture the maximum amount of water per unit area. Results indicated that when compared to the up-down slope tillage, micro-basin tillage could increase soil water content and maize yield by about 45% and 17%, and reduce runoff, sediment and nutrients loads by about 63%, 96% and 86%, respectively. Meanwhile, micro-basin tillage could reduce the peak runoff rates and delay the initial runoff-yielding time. In addition, micro-basin tillage with the optimal block interval proved to be the best one among all treatments with different intervals. Compared with treatments of other block intervals, the optimal block interval treatments increased soil moisture by around 10% and reduced runoff rate by around 15%. In general, micro-basin tillage with optimal block interval represents an effective soil and water conservation practice for sloping farmland of the black soil region.

Assessment of Micro-Basin Tillage as a Soil and Water Conservation Practice in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China

PubMed Central

Sui, Yuanyuan; Ou, Yang; Yan, Baixing; Xu, Xiaohong; Rousseau, Alain N.; Zhang, Yu

2016-01-01

Micro-basin tillage is a soil and water conservation practice that requires building individual earth blocks along furrows. In this study, plot experiments were conducted to assess the efficiency of micro-basin tillage on sloping croplands between 2012 and 2013 (5°and 7°). The conceptual, optimal, block interval model was used to design micro-basins which are meant to capture the maximum amount of water per unit area. Results indicated that when compared to the up-down slope tillage, micro-basin tillage could increase soil water content and maize yield by about 45% and 17%, and reduce runoff, sediment and nutrients loads by about 63%, 96% and 86%, respectively. Meanwhile, micro-basin tillage could reduce the peak runoff rates and delay the initial runoff-yielding time. In addition, micro-basin tillage with the optimal block interval proved to be the best one among all treatments with different intervals. Compared with treatments of other block intervals, the optimal block interval treatments increased soil moisture by around 10% and reduced runoff rate by around 15%. In general, micro-basin tillage with optimal block interval represents an effective soil and water conservation practice for sloping farmland of the black soil region. PMID:27031339

Modeling the impact of conservation agriculture on crop production and soil properties in Mediterranean climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moussadek, Rachid; Mrabet, Rachid; Dahan, Rachid; Laghrour, Malika; Lembiad, Ibtissam; ElMourid, Mohamed

2015-04-01

In Morocco, rainfed agriculture is practiced in the majority of agricultural land. However, the intensive land use coupled to the irregular rainfall constitutes a serious threat that affect country's food security. Conservation agriculture (CA) represents a promising alternative to produce more and sustainably. In fact, the direct seeding showed high yield in arid regions of Morocco but its extending to other more humid agro-ecological zones (rainfall > 350mm) remains scarce. In order to promote CA in Morocco, differents trials have been installed in central plateau of Morocco, to compare CA to conventional tillage (CT). The yields of the main practiced crops (wheat, lentil and checkpea) under CA and CT were analyzed and compared in the 3 soils types (Vertisol, Cambisol and Calcisol). Also, we studied the effect of CA on soil organic matter (SOM) and soil losses (SL) in the 3 different sites. The APSIM model was used to model the long term impact of CA compared to CT. The results obtained in this research have shown favorable effects of CA on crop production, SOM and soil erosion. Key words: Conservation agriculture, yield, soil properties, modeling, APSIM, Morocco.

Benefit assessment of soil and water conservation from cropland to forest in hilly Loess Plateau at Qinghai.

PubMed

Zhao, Chuanchuan; Yang, Ninggui; Wang, Zhen; Liu, Sili; Dong, Xu; Xin, Wenrong

2013-01-01

The information of slope and vegetation coverage of the monitoring region were extracted, based on DEM (Digital Evaluation Model) and Spot5 Satellite data images, and fishnet grid was generated using GIS (Geographic Information System) and RS (Remote Sensing) technique. Applying the information of slop and vegetation coverage layers into the corresponding space grid by using the function of zonal statistics and analysis, it can realize overlay analysis based on Standards for Classification and Gradation of Soil Erosion (SL190-2007), and obtains the map of soil erosion intensity of the monitoring region. Finally, according to Specifications for Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Services (LY/T1721-2008) and monitoring data of typical plot, the soil and water conservation value from cropland to forest was evaluated quantitatively in 2009. The results showed that the area, on and below the moderate level, was 93600 ha, taking up 50.03% of total conversion of farmland to forest area (185100 ha), which indicates a 14.64 million (t/a) of soil conversion, and a 1520 million Yuan for erosion control. The results of the study showed that the soil and water conservation was very effective.

Soil Geochemical Data for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative Study Area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, David B.; Ellefsen, Karl J.

2010-01-01

In 2008, soil samples were collected at 139 sites throughout the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative study area in southwest Wyoming. These samples, representing a density of 1 site per 440 square kilometers, were collected from a depth of 0-5 cm and analyzed for a suite of more than 40 major and trace elements following a near-total multi-acid extraction. In addition, soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, total and organic carbon, and sodium adsorption ratio were determined. The resulting data set provides a baseline for detecting changes in soil composition that might result from natural processes or anthropogenic activities. This report describes the sampling and analytical protocols used, and makes available all the soil geochemical data generated in the study.

Geomorphological characterization of conservation agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarolli, Paolo; Cecchin, Marco; Prosdocimi, Massimo; Masin, Roberta

2017-04-01

Soil water erosion is one of the major threats to soil resources throughout the world. Conventional agriculture has worsened the situation. Therefore, agriculture is facing multiple challenges: it has to produce more food to feed a growing population, and, on the other hand, safeguard natural resources adopting more sustainable production practices. In this perspective, more conservation-minded soil management practices should be taken to achieve an environmental sustainability of crop production. Indeed, conservation agriculture is considered to produce relevant environmental positive outcomes (e.g. reducing runoff and soil erosion, improving soil organic matter content and soil structure, and promoting biological activity). However, as mechanical weed control is limited or absent, in conservation agriculture, dependence on herbicides increases especially in the first years of transition from the conventional system. Consequently, also the risk of herbicide losses via runoff or adsorbed to eroded soil particles could be increased. To better analyse the complexity of soil water erosion and runoff processes in landscapes characterised by conservation agriculture, first, it is necessary to demonstrate if such different practices can significantly affect the surface morphology. Indeed, surface processes such erosion and runoff strongly depend on the shape of the surface. The questions are: are the lands treated with conservation and conventional agriculture different from each other regarding surface morphology? If so, can these differences provide a better understanding of hydrogeomorphic processes as the basis for a better and sustainable land management? To give an answer to these questions, we considered six study areas (three cultivated with no-tillage techniques, three with tillage techniques) in an experimental farm. High-resolution topography, derived from low-cost and fast photogrammetric techniques Structure-from-Motion (SfM), served as the basis to characterise the surface morphology. For each of derived Digital Elevation Model, seven morphometric indexes, such as slope, curvature, flow direction, contributing area, roughness, and connectivity was calculated. We showed then the variations of the morphology in the areas converted to the conservation agriculture, and, consequently, a possible modification of processes such as erosion and runoff. The results suggested that the agricultural surfaces interested by no-tillage practices are different from those tilled with conventional systems. The topography is rougher, with chaotic flow directions, and more concave areas, thus resulting in potential water storages, mitigating the intensity of soil erosion and runoff processes. On the other hand, the topography of traditional tillage area is more regular and smooth, with flow directions that tend to follow the same direction on the surface. These results are a novelty in the Earth Science and Agronomy: we demonstrated and quantified, from the geomorphological point of view, the potential role of conservative agriculture in mitigating, not only land degradation phenomena, but also the distribution of pollutants, and rainfall-runoff processes. References Prosdocimi, M., Tarolli, P., Cerdà, A. (2016). Mulching practice for reducing soil water erosion: A review. Earth-Science Reviews, 161, 191-203. Prosdocimi, M., Burguet, M., Di Prima, S., Sofia, G., Terol, E, Rodrigo Comino J., Cerdà, A., Tarolli, P. (2017). Rainfall simulation and Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry for the analysis of soil water erosion in Mediterranean vineyards. Science of the Total Environment, 574, 204-215. Tarolli, P., Sofia G. (2016). Human topographic signatures and derived geomorphic processes across landscapes, Geomorphology, 255, 140-161.

Influence of agricultural practice on trace metals in soils and vegetation in the water conservation area along the East River (Dongjiang River), South China.

PubMed

Luo, Chunling; Yang, Renxiu; Wang, Yan; Li, Jun; Zhang, Gan; Li, Xiangdong

2012-08-01

Dongjiang (East River) is the key resource of potable water for the Pearl River Delta region, South China. Although industrial activities are limited in the water conservation area along this river, agriculture is very intensive. The present study evaluated trace metals in four soils under different cultivation. The total concentrations of trace metals decreased in the order orchard soil>vegetable soil>paddy soil>natural soil, reflecting decreasing inputs of agrochemicals to soils. Relatively high concentrations of Cd were recorded in the 60-cm soil profiles. The (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratio in the above-ground tissues of plant was significantly lower than their corresponding soils. In combination with the low transfer factor of Pb from soil to plant shoots, atmospheric deposition is probably a major pathway for Pb to enter plant leaves. Regular monitoring on the soil quality in this area is recommended for the safety of water resource and agricultural products. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Erosion Prediction Analysis and Landuse Planning in Gunggung Watershed, Bali, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trigunasih, N. M.; Kusmawati, T.; Yuli Lestari, N. W.

2018-02-01

The purpose of this research is to predict the erosion that occurs in Gunggung watershed and sustainable landuse management plan. This research used the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) methodology. The method used observation / field survey and soil analysis at the Soil Laboratory of Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University. This research is divided into 5 stages, (1) land unit determination, (2) Field observation and soil sampling, (3) Laboratory analysis and data collection, (4) Prediction of erosion using USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) method, (5) The permissible erosion determination (EDP) then (6) determines the level of erosion hazard based on the depth of the soil, as well as the soil conservation plan if the erosion is greater than the allowed erosion, and (7) determining landuse management plan for sustainable agriculture. Erosion which value is smaller than soil loss tolerance can be exploited in a sustainable manner, while erosion exceeds allowable erosion will be conservation measures. Conservation action is the improvement of vegetation and land management. Land management like improvements the terrace, addition of organic matter, increase plant density, planting ground cover and planting layered header system will increase the land capability classes. Land use recommended after management is mixed plantation high density with forest plants, mix plantation high density with patio bench construction, seasonal cultivation and perennial crops, cultivation of perennial crops and cultivation of seasonal crops.

Soil, water and nutrient conservation in mountain farming systems: case-study from the Sikkim Himalaya.

PubMed

Sharma, E; Rai, S C; Sharma, R

2001-02-01

The Khanikhola watershed in Sikkim is agrarian with about 50% area under rain-fed agriculture representing the conditions of the middle mountains all over the Himalaya. The study was conducted to assess overland flow, soil loss and subsequent nutrient losses from different land uses in the watershed, and identify biotechnological inputs for management of mountain farming systems. Overland flow, soil and nutrient losses were very high from open agricultural (cropped) fields compared to other land uses, and more than 72% of nutrient losses were attributable to agriculture land use. Forests and large cardamom agroforestry conserved more soil compared to other land uses. Interventions, like cultivation of broom grass upon terrace risers, N2-fixing Albizia trees for maintenance of soil fertility and plantation of horticulture trees, have reduced the soil loss (by 22%). Soil and water conservation values (> 80%) of both large cardamom and broom grass were higher compared to other crops. Use of N2-fixing Albizia tree in large cardamom agroforestry and croplands contributed to soil fertility, and increased productivity and yield. Bio-composting of farm resources ensured increase in nutrient availability specially phosphorus in cropped areas. Agricultural practices in mountain areas should be strengthened with more agroforestry components, and cash crops like large cardamom and broom grass in agroforestry provide high economic return and are hydroecologically sustainable.

Beyond conservation agriculture.

PubMed

Giller, Ken E; Andersson, Jens A; Corbeels, Marc; Kirkegaard, John; Mortensen, David; Erenstein, Olaf; Vanlauwe, Bernard

2015-01-01

Global support for Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a pathway to Sustainable Intensification is strong. CA revolves around three principles: no-till (or minimal soil disturbance), soil cover, and crop rotation. The benefits arising from the ease of crop management, energy/cost/time savings, and soil and water conservation led to widespread adoption of CA, particularly on large farms in the Americas and Australia, where farmers harness the tools of modern science: highly-sophisticated machines, potent agrochemicals, and biotechnology. Over the past 10 years CA has been promoted among smallholder farmers in the (sub-) tropics, often with disappointing results. Growing evidence challenges the claims that CA increases crop yields and builds-up soil carbon although increased stability of crop yields in dry climates is evident. Our analyses suggest pragmatic adoption on larger mechanized farms, and limited uptake of CA by smallholder farmers in developing countries. We propose a rigorous, context-sensitive approach based on Systems Agronomy to analyze and explore sustainable intensification options, including the potential of CA. There is an urgent need to move beyond dogma and prescriptive approaches to provide soil and crop management options for farmers to enable the Sustainable Intensification of agriculture.

Soil management shapes ecosystem service provision and trade-offs in agricultural landscapes.

PubMed

Tamburini, Giovanni; De Simone, Serena; Sigura, Maurizia; Boscutti, Francesco; Marini, Lorenzo

2016-08-31

Agroecosystems are principally managed to maximize food provisioning even if they receive a large array of supporting and regulating ecosystem services (ESs). Hence, comprehensive studies investigating the effects of local management and landscape composition on the provision of and trade-offs between multiple ESs are urgently needed. We explored the effects of conservation tillage, nitrogen fertilization and landscape composition on six ESs (crop production, disease control, soil fertility, water quality regulation, weed and pest control) in winter cereals. Conservation tillage enhanced soil fertility and pest control, decreased water quality regulation and weed control, without affecting crop production and disease control. Fertilization only influenced crop production by increasing grain yield. Landscape intensification reduced the provision of disease and pest control. We also found tillage and landscape composition to interactively affect water quality regulation and weed control. Under N fertilization, conventional tillage resulted in more trade-offs between ESs than conservation tillage. Our results demonstrate that soil management and landscape composition affect the provision of several ESs and that soil management potentially shapes the trade-offs between them. © 2016 The Author(s).

Modeled Impacts of Cover Crops and Vegetative Barriers on Corn Stover Availability and Soil Quality

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ian J. Bonner; David J. Muth Jr.; Joshua B. Koch

2014-06-01

Environmentally benign, economically viable, and socially acceptable agronomic strategies are needed to launch a sustainable lignocellulosic biofuel industry. Our objective was to demonstrate a landscape planning process that can ensure adequate supplies of corn (Zea mays L.) stover feedstock while protecting and improving soil quality. The Landscape Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) was used to develop land use strategies that were then scaled up for five U.S. Corn Belt states (Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota) to illustrate the impact that could be achieved. Our results show an annual sustainable stover supply of 194 million Mg without exceeding soil erosion Tmore » values or depleting soil organic carbon [i.e., soil conditioning index (SCI)?>?0] when no-till, winter cover crop, and vegetative barriers were incorporated into the landscape. A second, more rigorous conservation target was set to enhance soil quality while sustainably harvesting stover. By requiring erosion to be <1/2 T and the SCI-organic matter (OM) subfactor to be >?0, the annual sustainable quantity of harvestable stover dropped to148 million Mg. Examining removal rates by state and soil resource showed that soil capability class and slope generally determined the effectiveness of the three conservation practices and the resulting sustainable harvest rate. This emphasizes that sustainable biomass harvest must be based on subfield management decisions to ensure soil resources are conserved or enhanced, while providing sufficient biomass feedstock to support the economic growth of bioenergy enterprises.« less

Spatial distribution and hazard degree of soil erosion of sloping croplands in northeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, T.

2017-12-01

Soil erosion is causing damage to the sloping croplands of northeast China and threatening the food security of the nation. However, little is known about the problem in macro scale. This study aims to investigate the area, slope gradient, soil erosion rate and year limit of erosion of the sloping croplands in whole northeast China and different geomorphologic regions, soil types, watersheds and administrative divisions of it, to estimate quantitatively the necessity and urgency of soil conservation and to offer advices. Meteorological data, topography data, geomorphology data, soil data and landuse data were collected. The China Soil Loss Equation was applied. The results indicated that: (1) Total area of the sloping croplands of northeast China is 195000 km2. They mainly distributed in Changbai mountainous region, eastern Songnen plain and Daxinganling mountainous region, with dark-brown earth, black soil and brown earth as main soil types. Total area of the sloping croplands steeper than 5 degree is 31000 km2. They mainly distributed in the mountain regions, with dark-brown earth and brown earth as main soil types. (2) The soil erosion rates of 92% of the sloping croplands have exceeded the soil loss tolerance in the national standard (0.15 mm/a). These croplands need to be conserved. The A horizon depths of 66% of the sloping croplands are less than 30 cm , while the year limit of A horizon erosion of 59% of the sloping croplands are less than 100 a. These croplands need to be conserved immediately. (3) Contour farming is suitable to 84% of the sloping croplands and deserves more attention. The sloping croplands steeper than 15 degree and those located in the aeolian sandy soil and some others soil types contributed little in grain production with high hazard degrees of erosion and should be reused for other purposes, as soon as possible. (4) The Changbai mountainous region, Daxinganling mountainous region, the dark-brown earth region and the brown earth region are the key regions, difficult regions and priority regions of the conversation work and deserve more attention. (5) The load, difficulty and urgency of the conservation work varies widely among counties. Therefore, each county should be dealt with on its individual merits, but not as the same case.

National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams. Thousand Acre Site Number 1 Dam MA 00256, Housatonic River Basin, New Marlborough, Massachusetts. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

Conservation Division Kevin Maguire, Water Resources Comission, Boston, Mass. Edward G. Konieczny, Soil Conservation Service . James J. Elasmar, Soil...34, ’. R~CT C’ A~dJL IST’~CTCN July 1, 1974 BLACKBERRY IM-R WAERS "HED. Blackberry Site On June 24, 1974, the following met at the...Related Resources - Conn. Kevin iAlmguire Water Resources Comm~ission - Boston W. If. tieyers Berkshire Conservation Commissin Stetson Adams Department of

Farmers' Adoption of Soil Conservation Technologies: A Case Study from Osun State, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Junge, B.; Deji, O.; Abaidoo, R.; Chikoye, D.; Stahr, K.

2009-01-01

The main objective of this study was to determine the attitude of farmers towards erosion and the adoption of appropriate soil conservation technologies (SCTs). For the survey, farmers were selected from the communities Esa Oke, Elwure and Owode-Ede and Akoda in Osun State in Nigeria. In the first three communities farmers did receive training on…

Can conservation trump impacts of climate change on soil erosion? An assessment from winter wheat cropland in the Southern Great Plains of the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

With the need to increase crop production to meet the needs of growing population, protecting the productivity of our soil resource is essential. However, conservationists are concerned that conservation practices that were effective in the past may no longer be effective in the future under project...

Effect of conservation practices on soil carbon and nitrogen accretion and crop yield in a corn production system in the southeastern coastal plain, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We implemented conservation farming practices (winter cover cropping plus strip tillage) for a non-irrigated corn production system in the southern coastal plain of Georgia, USA that had been previously been managed under a plow and harrow tillage regime. Total soil carbon and nitrogen were measure...

Potential adherence of flue gas desulfurization gypsum to forage as a consideration for excessive ingestion by ruminants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate, CaSO4·2H2O) has long been used to improve soils and crop production, and its use has recently been encouraged by the USDA-NRCS for soil conservation through a new Conservation Practice Standard: Code 333. However, there is concern regarding adverse effects of exce...

30 CFR 785.17 - Prime farmland.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... authority in consultation with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall determine the nature and extent of... a soil survey exists for those lands and whether soil mapping units in the permit area have been designated as prime farmland. If no soil survey exists, the applicant shall have a soil survey made of the...

30 CFR 785.17 - Prime farmland.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... authority in consultation with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall determine the nature and extent of... a soil survey exists for those lands and whether soil mapping units in the permit area have been designated as prime farmland. If no soil survey exists, the applicant shall have a soil survey made of the...

30 CFR 785.17 - Prime farmland.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... authority in consultation with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall determine the nature and extent of... a soil survey exists for those lands and whether soil mapping units in the permit area have been designated as prime farmland. If no soil survey exists, the applicant shall have a soil survey made of the...

30 CFR 785.17 - Prime farmland.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... authority in consultation with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service shall determine the nature and extent of... a soil survey exists for those lands and whether soil mapping units in the permit area have been designated as prime farmland. If no soil survey exists, the applicant shall have a soil survey made of the...

Soil Formation and Distribution in Missouri. Instructional Unit. Conservation Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillon, David A.

This unit is designed to help vocational agriculture teachers incorporate information on soil formation and the soils geography of Missouri into their curriculum. The unit consists of: (1) a topic outline; (2) general unit objectives; (3) discussions of processes and factors of soil formation, the soils geography of Missouri, and some soil…

Soil Erosion. LC Science Tracer Bullet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buydos, John F., Comp.

Soil erosion is the detachment and movement of topsoil or soil material from the upper part of the soil profile. It may occur in the form of rill, gully, sheet, or wind erosion. Agents of erosion may be water, wind, glacial ice, agricultural implements, machinery, and animals. Soil conservation measures require a thorough understanding of the…

Conserving Soil.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Designed as enrichment materials for grades six through nine, this program is an interdisciplinary study of soils. As part of the program students: (1) examine soil organisms; (2) research history of local Native Americans to see how they and others have used the land and its soils; (3) investigate how soils are degraded and how they are conserved…

Property-tax incentives for implementing soil-conservation programs under constitutional taxing limitations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Massey, D.T.; Silver, M.B.

1982-01-01

This article describes how property-tax incentives can be used to implement soil-conservation programs on agricultural and open-space lands under the differential-assessment statutes and other exceptions to constitutional limitations on taxation powers. The article describes restrictions imposed on taxing powers by the constitutional uniformity clauses and methods for circumventing those limitations; various property-tax incentives available for conservation programs; types of differential or use-value assessments providing property-tax relief for farm, forest, and open-space land preservation; eligibility of lands for differential assessments; methods available to landowners for participation in differential assessments; and determination of value under differential assessment. The article next details howmore » each of the three primary types of differential or use-value assessment statutes for farm, forest, and open-space land preservation provides exceptions to the uniformity clauses for property tax incentives to implement soil-conservation programs. Other methods available for providing exceptions to the uniformity clauses to permit property-tax incentives are also described for each of the three states. Each of these states has statutes giving favorable tax treatment to certain types of property, such as pollution-abatement equipment, alternative energy-producing devices, and even country clubs. These statutes can be used as examples of finding a constitutional method for providing favorabe tax treatment to promote participation in soil-conservation programs.« less

Analyzing ecological restoration strategies for water and soil conservation

PubMed Central

Mota da Silva, Jonathan; Silva, Marx Leandro Naves; Guimarães, João Luis Bittencourt; Sousa Júnior, Wilson Cabral; Figueiredo, Ricardo de Oliveira; da Rocha, Humberto Ribeiro

2018-01-01

The choice of areas for nature conservation involves the attempt to maximize the benefits, whether by carrying out an economic activity or by the provision of Ecosystem Services. Studies are needed to improve the understanding of the effect of the extent and position along the watershed of restored areas on soil and water conservation. This study aimed to understand how different restoration strategies might reflect in soil conservation and sediment retention. Using InVEST tool, sediment transport was simulated in a small 12 km2 watershed (Posses River, in Southeast Brazil), where one of first Brazilian Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) projects is being carried out, comparing different hypothetical restoration strategies. With 25% of restoration, sediment export decreased by 78% for riparian restoration, and 27% for the steepest slopes restoration. On the other hand, the decrease in soil loss was lower for riparian restoration, with a 16% decrease, while the steepest slopes restoration reduced it by 21%. This mismatch between the reduction of sediment export and soil loss was explained by the fact that forest not only reduces soil loss locally but also traps sediment arriving from the upper parts of the watershed. While the first mechanism is important to provide soil stability, decreasing the risk of landslip, and to maintain agricultural productivity, the second can improve water quality and decrease the risk of silting, with positive effects on the water reservoirs at the outlet of the watershed. This suggests that Riparian and the Steepest Slopes restoration strategies are complementary in the sense of preventing sediments from reaching the water bodies as well as protecting them at their origin (with the reduction of erosion), so it will be advisable to consider the two types of restoration. PMID:29425214

Analyzing ecological restoration strategies for water and soil conservation.

PubMed

Saad, Sandra Isay; Mota da Silva, Jonathan; Silva, Marx Leandro Naves; Guimarães, João Luis Bittencourt; Sousa Júnior, Wilson Cabral; Figueiredo, Ricardo de Oliveira; Rocha, Humberto Ribeiro da

2018-01-01

The choice of areas for nature conservation involves the attempt to maximize the benefits, whether by carrying out an economic activity or by the provision of Ecosystem Services. Studies are needed to improve the understanding of the effect of the extent and position along the watershed of restored areas on soil and water conservation. This study aimed to understand how different restoration strategies might reflect in soil conservation and sediment retention. Using InVEST tool, sediment transport was simulated in a small 12 km2 watershed (Posses River, in Southeast Brazil), where one of first Brazilian Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) projects is being carried out, comparing different hypothetical restoration strategies. With 25% of restoration, sediment export decreased by 78% for riparian restoration, and 27% for the steepest slopes restoration. On the other hand, the decrease in soil loss was lower for riparian restoration, with a 16% decrease, while the steepest slopes restoration reduced it by 21%. This mismatch between the reduction of sediment export and soil loss was explained by the fact that forest not only reduces soil loss locally but also traps sediment arriving from the upper parts of the watershed. While the first mechanism is important to provide soil stability, decreasing the risk of landslip, and to maintain agricultural productivity, the second can improve water quality and decrease the risk of silting, with positive effects on the water reservoirs at the outlet of the watershed. This suggests that Riparian and the Steepest Slopes restoration strategies are complementary in the sense of preventing sediments from reaching the water bodies as well as protecting them at their origin (with the reduction of erosion), so it will be advisable to consider the two types of restoration.

Conservation of Endangered Lupinus mariae-josephae in Its Natural Habitat by Inoculation with Selected, Native Bradyrhizobium Strains

PubMed Central

Navarro, Albert; Fos, Simón; Laguna, Emilio; Durán, David; Rey, Luis; Rubio-Sanz, Laura; Imperial, Juan; Ruiz-Argüeso, Tomás

2014-01-01

Lupinus mariae-josephae is a recently discovered endemism that is only found in alkaline-limed soils, a unique habitat for lupines, from a small area in Valencia region (Spain). In these soils, L. mariae-josephae grows in just a few defined patches, and previous conservation efforts directed towards controlled plant reproduction have been unsuccessful. We have previously shown that L. mariae-josephae plants establish a specific root nodule symbiosis with bradyrhizobia present in those soils, and we reasoned that the paucity of these bacteria in soils might contribute to the lack of success in reproducing plants for conservation purposes. Greenhouse experiments using L. mariae-josephae trap-plants showed the absence or near absence of L. mariae-josephae-nodulating bacteria in “terra rossa” soils of Valencia outside of L. mariae-josephae plant patches, and in other “terra rossa” or alkaline red soils of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands outside of the Valencia L. mariae-josephae endemism region. Among the bradyrhizobia able to establish an efficient symbiosis with L. mariae-josephae plants, two strains, LmjC and LmjM3 were selected as inoculum for seed coating. Two planting experiments were carried out in consecutive years under natural conditions in areas with edapho-climatic characteristics identical to those sustaining natural L. mariae-josephae populations, and successful reproduction of the plant was achieved. Interestingly, the successful reproductive cycle was absolutely dependent on seedling inoculation with effective bradyrhizobia, and optimal performance was observed in plants inoculated with LmjC, a strain that had previously shown the most efficient behavior under controlled conditions. Our results define conditions for L. mariae-josephae conservation and for extension to alkaline-limed soil habitats, where no other known lupine can thrive. PMID:25019379

7 CFR 764.231 - Conservation loan uses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... not limited to: (1) The installation of conservation structures to address soil, water, and related... shelter belt purposes; (3) The installation of water conservation measures; (4) The installation of waste... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Conservation loan uses. 764.231 Section 764.231...

7 CFR 631.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., animal, and related resources. This assistance may include conservation plan formulation, application... information on the conservation of soil, water, plant, animal, and related resources applicable specifically... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...

7 CFR 631.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., animal, and related resources. This assistance may include conservation plan formulation, application... information on the conservation of soil, water, plant, animal, and related resources applicable specifically... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...

7 CFR 631.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., animal, and related resources. This assistance may include conservation plan formulation, application... information on the conservation of soil, water, plant, animal, and related resources applicable specifically... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...

Effectiveness Of Miraba an Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Measures On Reducing Runoff And Soil Loss In Arable Land Of Western Usambara Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Msita, H. B.; Kimaro, D. N.; Mtakwa, P. W.; Msanya, B. M.; Dondyene, S.; Poesen, J.; Deckers, J.

2012-04-01

Soil erosion by water is rampant mainly in mountainous areas of Tanzania leading to environmental hazards, low land productivity, low income and increased poverty. Despite the severity of the soil erosion problem, there is not much quantitative data on the erosion effects and effectiveness of indigenous soil and water conservation (SWC) measures. The consequence is that indigenous knowledge in SWC planning is ignored. The on-farm field experiment was conducted for three years in Migambo village, Lushoto district in Tanzania, to determine the effectiveness of improved Miraba (IM) an indigenous soil erosion control measure on reducing runoff and soil loss. Management practices were tested viz: control that is without any soil conservation measure (C), Miraba alone (M), Miraba with farmyard manure and mulching (MFM) replicated three times in CRD setting. Maize (Zea mays) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were used as test crops, due to their importance as food crops and the high erosion rates on fields with these crops. The crops were planted in rotation, maize and beans in short and long rains respectively. Gerlach troughs and runoff plots were used to evaluate the physical effectiveness. Results show significant effects of IM against control on crop yields, soil loss, surface runoff and moisture retention. MFM is the most effective measure in reducing soil and water losses followed by MF and M. The results further showed that these management practices can be implemented to reduce soil erosion and nutrient losses in the study area and areas with similar ecological setting. To facilitate adoption of these practices further research works is recommended for identifying economically feasible indigenous SWC measures under different biophysical and socio-economic conditions.

Comparison of SWAT and GeoWEPP model in predicting the impact of stone bunds on runoff and erosion processes in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demelash, Nigus; Flagler, Jared; Renschler, Chris; Strohmeier, Stefan; Holzmann, Hubert; Feras, Ziadat; Addis, Hailu; Zucca, Claudio; Bayu, Wondimu; Klik, Andreas

2017-04-01

Soil degradation is a major issue in the Ethiopian highlands which are most suitable for agriculture and, therefore, support a major part of human population and livestock. Heavy rainstorms during the rainy season in summer create soil erosion and runoff processes which affect soil fertility and food security. In the last years programs for soil conservation and afforestation were initiated by the Ethiopian government to reduce erosion risk, retain water in the landscape and improve crop yields. The study was done in two adjacent watersheds in the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. One of the watersheds is developed by soil and water conservation structures (stone bunds) in 2011 and the other one is without soil and water conservation structures. Spatial distribution of soil textures and other soil properties were determined in the field and in the laboratory and a soil map was derived. A land use map was evaluated based on satellite images and ground truth data. A Digital Elevation Model of the watershed was developed based on conventional terrestrial surveying using a total station. At the outlet of the watersheds weirs with cameras were installed to measure surface runoff. During each event runoff samples were collected and sediment concentration was analyzed. The objective of this study is 1) to assess the impact of stone bunds on runoff and erosion processes by using simulation models, and 2) to compare the performance of two soil erosion models in predicting the measurements. The selected erosion models were the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Geospatial Interface to the Water Erosion Prediction Project (GeoWEPP). The simulation models were calibrated/verified for the 2011-2013 periods and validated with 2014-2015 data. Results of this comparison will be presented.

Regional-scale assessment of soil salinity in the Red River Valley using multi-year MODIS EVI and NDVI.

PubMed

Lobell, D B; Lesch, S M; Corwin, D L; Ulmer, M G; Anderson, K A; Potts, D J; Doolittle, J A; Matos, M R; Baltes, M J

2010-01-01

The ability to inventory and map soil salinity at regional scales remains a significant challenge to scientists concerned with the salinization of agricultural soils throughout the world. Previous attempts to use satellite or aerial imagery to assess soil salinity have found limited success in part because of the inability of methods to isolate the effects of soil salinity on vegetative growth from other factors. This study evaluated the use of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery in conjunction with directed soil sampling to assess and map soil salinity at a regional scale (i.e., 10-10(5) km(2)) in a parsimonious manner. Correlations with three soil salinity ground truth datasets differing in scale were made in Kittson County within the Red River Valley (RRV) of North Dakota and Minnesota, an area where soil salinity assessment is a top priority for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Multi-year MODIS imagery was used to mitigate the influence of temporally dynamic factors such as weather, pests, disease, and management influences. The average of the MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) for a 7-yr period exhibited a strong relationship with soil salinity in all three datasets, and outperformed the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). One-third to one-half of the spatial variability in soil salinity could be captured by measuring average MODIS EVI and whether the land qualified for the Conservation Reserve Program (a USDA program that sets aside marginally productive land based on conservation principles). The approach has the practical simplicity to allow broad application in areas where limited resources are available for salinity assessment.

SOIL QUALITY RECOVERY IN PREVIOUSLY FARMED FIELDS SEEDED TO PERENNIAL WARM SEASON NATIVE GRASS

EPA Science Inventory

A study of twelve Conservation Reserve Program sites in northeastern Kansas was conducted to determine native grass species and selected soil textures influence on soil quality recovery.
Plant productivity, plant carbon and nitrogen concentrations, total soil nitrogen and car...

Identifying conservation hotspots using tillage erosion modeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tillage operations redistribute soil within agricultural landscapes due to deviations in the quantity of soil moved during tillage. Tillage erosion is the net loss or accumulation of soil at any spot within an agricultural landscape due to soil being directly moved by tillage; it is a dominant erosi...

Effects of soil and water conservation on crop productivity: Evidences from Anjenie watershed, Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adgo, Enyew; Teshome, Akalu

2014-05-01

Widespread soil and water conservation activities have been implemented in many parts of eastern Africa to control soil erosion by water and improve land productivity for the last few decades. Following the 1974 severe drought, soil and water conservation became more important to Ethiopia and the approach shifted to watershed based land management initiatives since the 1980s. To capture long-term impacts of these initiatives, a study was conducted in Anjenie Watershed of Ethiopia, assessing fanya juu terraces and grass strips constructed in a pilot project in 1984, and which are still functional nearly 30 years later. Data were collected from government records, field observations and questionnaire surveys administered to 60 farmers. Half of the respondents had terraced farms in the watershed former project area (with terrace technology) and the rest were outside the terraced area. The crops assessed were teff, barley and maize. Cost-benefit analyses were used to determine the economic benefits with and without terraces, including gross and net profit values, returns on labour, water productivity and impacts on poverty. The results indicated that soil and water conservation had improved crop productivity. The average yield on terraced fields was 0.95 t ha-1 for teff (control 0.49), 1.86 t ha-1 for barley (control 0.61), and 1.73 t ha-1 for maize (control 0.77). The net benefit was significantly higher on terraced fields, recording US 20.9 (US -112 control) for teff, US 185 (US -41 control) for barley and US -34.5 (US - 101 control) ha-1 yr-1 for maize. The returns on family labour were 2.33 for barley, 1.01 for teff, and 0.739 US per person-day for maize grown on terraced plots, compared to US 0.44, 0.27 and 0.16 per person-day for plots without terraces, respectively. Using a discount rate of 10%, the average net present value (NPV) of barley production with terrace was found to be about US 1542 over a period of 50 years. In addition, the average financial internal rate of return (FIRR) was 301%. Other long-term impacts of terracing included farmers' growing of maize on terraced fields as a result of water conservation. Currently, farmers also grow barley on terraced fields for two crop seasons per year unlike the experiences on farms without terraces. Household incomes and food security had improved and soil erosion drastically reduced. Many farmers had adopted terracing doubling the original area under the soil conservation pilot project and consequently improving environmental conservation in the watershed.

7 CFR 12.23 - Conservation plans and conservation systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... in the field office technical guide are designed to achieve substantial reductions in soil erosion..., 1985, the measurement of erosion reduction achieved by applying a conservation plan or system shall be... in paragraph (b) which the conservation system or plan was designed to achieve. It is the...

Conservation Education: A Position Statement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Society of America, Ankeny, IA.

The Soil Conservation Society of America's (SCSA) aim is to advance the science and art of good land and water use. Conservation education has a significant role in achieving the wise use of these resources. In this report, perspectives are offered on: (1) the requirements for effective conservation education programs; (2) rationale for…

Water Conservation Education with a Rainfall Simulator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kok, Hans; Kessen, Shelly

1997-01-01

Describes a program in which a rainfall simulator was used to promote water conservation by showing water infiltration, water runoff, and soil erosion. The demonstrations provided a good background for the discussion of issues such as water conservation, crop rotation, and conservation tillage practices. The program raised awareness of…

China Report, Agriculture, No. 278.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-10

Radiation Successfully Used in Agriculture (XINHUA, 18 Oct 83) 2 Recent Agricultural Development Strategies (Zhang Lin; JINGJI YANJIU, No 9, 20...ABSTRACTS SOIL CONSERVATION SHUITU BAOCHI TONGBAO [BULLETIN OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION], No 4, Aug 83 28 URBAN STUDIES JINGJI DILI [ECONOMIC...GEOGRAPHY], No 3, Aug 83 31 LAND USE JINGJI DILI [ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY], No 3, Aug 83 33 CROP ROTATION JINGJI DILI fECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY], No

A Guide for Teaching Conservation Education in the Schools of Louisiana; Soil and Water Section. (Revision)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, George; McCollum, Howard P.

This publication is a revised edition of the teachers guide for teaching soil and water conservation in the elementary and junior high schools of Louisiana. The format of the guide includes a statement of concept, followed by discussion of the concept, suggested activities, and possible outcomes. There is a glossary of terms and a section that…

Soil acidity amelioration in a no-till system in west Tennessee USA differs by cover crop type and nitrogen application rate

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation soil management practices may influence the soil acidity. Surface application of lime may be required in no-till systems to ameliorate soil acidity and to improve crop yields. The application of lime may also increase microbial activity on soil. Specifically, the microbial activity of s...

Advancement of a soil parameters geodatabase for the modeling assessment of conservation practice outcomes in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

US-ModSoilParms-TEMPLE is a database composed of a set of geographic databases functionally storing soil-spatial units and soil hydraulic, physical, and chemical parameters for three agriculture management simulation models, SWAT, APEX, and ALMANAC. This paper introduces the updated US-ModSoilParms-...

The land use patterns for soil organic carbon conservation at Endanga watershed Southeast Sulawesi Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leomo, S.; Ginting, S.; Sabaruddin, L.; Tufaila, M.; Muhidin

2018-02-01

The Endanga basin is one part of the Konaweeha watershed located in South Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi Province, covering an area of 1,353.67 hectares. The land use patterns in Endanga Watershed contained forests, shrubs, oil palm plantations, pepper fields, and cultivated fields of field rice, corn monoculture and intercropping of peanuts and corn. This watershed needs serious attention because most of its territory is on slope of 15-40%, with erosion hazard levels (EHL) varying from mild erosion to severe erosion. The loss of organic carbon (C-organic) soil is measured from the soil carried along with the surface stream and into the reservoir on various land uses. The result measurement of C-organic soil loss on forest land use is 14.02 kg ha-1, shrubs land 22.71 kg ha-1, oil palm 151.32 kg ha-1, pepper garden 93.69 kg ha-1, field rice 313.80 kg.ha-1, monoculture of maize 142.44 kg ha-1, intercropped maize and corn 51.10 kg ha-1 and open land 1,909.16 kg ha-1. The forest land and shrubs is best in conserving soil C-organic, but economically unfavorable for the community, so land use pattern for intercropping and pepper plantation can be used for soil C-organic conservation

Impact of cornstalk buffer strip on hillslope soil erosion and its hydrodynamic understanding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil erosion is still a serious concern on the Loess Plateau despite extensive soil conservation measures. Cornstalk buffer strip is not well utilized on the Loess Plateau, and there is little information on the hydrodynamic understanding of this soil erosion control practice. A simulated rainfall e...

Calibration of the soil conditioning index (SCI) to soil organic carbon in the southeastern USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Prediction of soil organic C sequestration with adoption of various conservation agricultural management approaches is needed to meet the emerging market for environmental services provided by agricultural land stewardship. The soil conditioning index (SCI) is a relatively simple model used by the ...

Conservation agricultural management to sequester soil organic carbon

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Storing carbon (C) in soil as organic matter is not only a viable strategy to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere, but is vital for improving the quality, fertility, and functioning of soil. This presentation describes relevant management approaches to avoid land degradation and foster soil organic C ...

Estimation of Soil Erosion Dynamics in the Koshi Basin Using GIS and Remote Sensing to Assess Priority Areas for Conservation

PubMed Central

Uddin, Kabir; Murthy, M. S. R.; Wahid, Shahriar M.; Matin, Mir A.

2016-01-01

High levels of water-induced erosion in the transboundary Himalayan river basins are contributing to substantial changes in basin hydrology and inundation. Basin-wide information on erosion dynamics is needed for conservation planning, but field-based studies are limited. This study used remote sensing (RS) data and a geographic information system (GIS) to estimate the spatial distribution of soil erosion across the entire Koshi basin, to identify changes between 1990 and 2010, and to develop a conservation priority map. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) was used in an ArcGIS environment with rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover-management, and support practice factors as primary parameters. The estimated annual erosion from the basin was around 40 million tonnes (40 million tonnes in 1990 and 42 million tonnes in 2010). The results were within the range of reported levels derived from isolated plot measurements and model estimates. Erosion risk was divided into eight classes from very low to extremely high and mapped to show the spatial pattern of soil erosion risk in the basin in 1990 and 2010. The erosion risk class remained unchanged between 1990 and 2010 in close to 87% of the study area, but increased over 9.0% of the area and decreased over 3.8%, indicating an overall worsening of the situation. Areas with a high and increasing risk of erosion were identified as priority areas for conservation. The study provides the first assessment of erosion dynamics at the basin level and provides a basis for identifying conservation priorities across the Koshi basin. The model has a good potential for application in similar river basins in the Himalayan region. PMID:26964039

Conservation of soil organic carbon, biodiversity and the provision of other ecosystem services along climatic gradients in West Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marks, E.; Aflakpui, G. K. S.; Nkem, J.; Poch, R. M.; Khouma, M.; Kokou, K.; Sagoe, R.; Sebastiã, M.-T.

2009-08-01

Terrestrial carbon resources are major drivers of development in West Africa. The distribution of these resources co-varies with ecosystem type and rainfall along a strong Northeast-Southwest climatic gradient. Soil organic carbon, a strong indicator of soil quality, has been severely depleted in some areas by human activities, which leads to issues of soil erosion and desertification, but this trend can be altered with appropriate management. There is significant potential to enhance existing soil carbon stores in West Africa, with benefits at the global and local scale, for atmospheric CO2 mitigation as well as supporting and provisioning ecosystem services. Three key factors impacting carbon stocks are addressed in this review: climate, biotic factors, and human activities. Climate risks must be considered in a framework of global change, especially in West Africa, where landscape managers have few resources available to adapt to climatic perturbations. Among biotic factors, biodiversity conservation paired with carbon conservation may provide a pathway to sustainable development, and biodiversity conservation is also a global priority with local benefits for ecosystem resilience, biomass productivity, and provisioning services such as foodstuffs. Finally, human management has largely been responsible for reduced carbon stocks, but this trend can be reversed through the implementation of appropriate carbon conservation strategies in the agricultural sector, as shown by multiple studies. Owing to the strong regional climatic gradient, country-level initiatives will need to consider carbon sequestration approaches for multiple ecosystem types. Given the diversity of environments, global policies must be adapted and strategies developed at the national or sub-national levels to improve carbon storage above and belowground. Initiatives of this sort must act locally at farmer scale, and focus on ecosystem services rather than on carbon sequestration solely.

Effectiveness of Conservation Measures in Reducing Runoff and Soil Loss Under Different Magnitude-Frequency Storms at Plot and Catchment Scales in the Semi-arid Agricultural Landscape.

PubMed

Zhu, T X

2016-03-01

In this study, multi-year stormflow data collected at both catchment and plot scales on an event basis were used to evaluate the efficiency of conservation. At the catchment scale, soil loss from YDG, an agricultural catchment with no conservation measures, was compared with that from CZG, an agricultural catchment with an implementation of a range of conservation measures. With an increase of storm recurrence intervals in the order of <1, 1-2, 2-5, 5-10, 10-20, and >20 years, the mean event sediment yield was 639, 1721, 5779, 15191, 19627, and 47924 t/km(2) in YDG, and was 244, 767, 3077, 4679, 8388, and 15868 t/km(2) in CZG, which represented a reduction effectiveness of 61.8, 55.4, 46.7, 69.2, 57.2, and 66.8 %, respectively. Storm events with recurrence intervals greater than 2 years contributed about two-thirds of the total runoff and sediment in both YDG and CZG catchments. At the plot scale, soil loss from one cultivated slopeland was compared with that from five conservation plots. The mean event soil loss was 1622 t/km(2) on the cultivated slopeland, in comparison to 27.7 t/km(2) on the woodland plot, 213 t/km(2) on the grassland plot, 467 t/km(2) on the alfalfa plot, 236 t/km(2) on the terraceland plot, and 642 t/km(2) on the earthbank plot. Soil loss per unit area from all the plots was significantly less than that from the catchments for storms of all categories of recurrence intervals.

Estimation of Soil Erosion Dynamics in the Koshi Basin Using GIS and Remote Sensing to Assess Priority Areas for Conservation.

PubMed

Uddin, Kabir; Murthy, M S R; Wahid, Shahriar M; Matin, Mir A

2016-01-01

High levels of water-induced erosion in the transboundary Himalayan river basins are contributing to substantial changes in basin hydrology and inundation. Basin-wide information on erosion dynamics is needed for conservation planning, but field-based studies are limited. This study used remote sensing (RS) data and a geographic information system (GIS) to estimate the spatial distribution of soil erosion across the entire Koshi basin, to identify changes between 1990 and 2010, and to develop a conservation priority map. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) was used in an ArcGIS environment with rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover-management, and support practice factors as primary parameters. The estimated annual erosion from the basin was around 40 million tonnes (40 million tonnes in 1990 and 42 million tonnes in 2010). The results were within the range of reported levels derived from isolated plot measurements and model estimates. Erosion risk was divided into eight classes from very low to extremely high and mapped to show the spatial pattern of soil erosion risk in the basin in 1990 and 2010. The erosion risk class remained unchanged between 1990 and 2010 in close to 87% of the study area, but increased over 9.0% of the area and decreased over 3.8%, indicating an overall worsening of the situation. Areas with a high and increasing risk of erosion were identified as priority areas for conservation. The study provides the first assessment of erosion dynamics at the basin level and provides a basis for identifying conservation priorities across the Koshi basin. The model has a good potential for application in similar river basins in the Himalayan region.

[Advance in researches on vegetation cover and management factor in the soil erosion prediction model].

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Yuan, Jianping; Liu, Baoyuan

2002-08-01

Vegetation cover and land management are the main limiting factors of soil erosion, and quantitative evaluation on the effect of different vegetation on soil erosion is essential to land use and soil conservation planning. The vegetation cover and management factor (C) in the universal soil loss equation (USLE) is an index to evaluate this effect, which has been studied deeply and used widely. However, the C factor study is insufficient in China. In order to strengthen the research of C factor, this paper reviewed the developing progress of C factor, and compared the methods of estimating C value in different USLE versions. The relative studies in China were also summarized from the aspects of vegetation canopy coverage, soil surface cover, and root density. Three problems in C factor study were pointed out. The authors suggested that cropland C factor research should be furthered, and its methodology should be unified in China to represent reliable C values for soil loss prediction and conservation planning.

Characteristics of pulsed runoff-erosion events under typical rainstorms in a small watershed on the Loess Plateau of China.

PubMed

Wu, Lei; Jiang, Jun; Li, Gou-Xia; Ma, Xiao-Yi

2018-02-27

The pulsed events of rainstorm erosion on the Loess Plateau are well-known, but little information is available concerning the characteristics of superficial soil erosion processes caused by heavy rainstorms at the watershed scale. This study statistically evaluated characteristics of pulsed runoff-erosion events based on 17 observed rainstorms from 1997-2010 in a small loess watershed on the Loess Plateau of China. Results show that: 1) Rainfall is the fundamental driving force of soil erosion on hillslopes, but the correlations of rainfall-runoff and rainfall-sediment in different rainstorms are often scattered due to infiltration-excess runoff and soil conservation measures. 2) Relationships between runoff and sediment for each rainstorm event can be regressed by linear, power, logarithmic and exponential functions. Cluster Analysis is helpful in classifying runoff-erosion events and formulating soil conservation strategies for rainstorm erosion. 3) Response characteristics of sediment yield are different in different levels of pulsed runoff-erosion events. Affected by rainfall intensity and duration, large changes may occur in the interactions between flow and sediment for different flood events. Results provide new insights into runoff-erosion processes and will assist soil conservation planning in the loess hilly region.

A virtual, interactive and dynamic excursion in Google Earth on soil management and conservation (AgroGeovid)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanwalleghem, Tom; Giráldez, Juan Vicente

2013-04-01

Many courses on natural resources require hands-on practical knowledge and experience that students traditionally could only acquire by expensive and time-consuming field excursions. New technologies and social media however provide an interesting alternative to train students and help them improve their practical knowledge. AgroGeovid is a virtual excursion, based on Google Earth, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter that is aimed at agricultural engineering students, but equally useful for any student interested in soil management and conservation, e.g. geography, geology and environmental resources. Agrogeovid provides the framework for teachers and students to upload geotagged photos, comments and discussions. After the initial startup phase, where the teacher uploaded material on e.g. soil erosion phenomena, soil conservation structures and different soil management strategies under different agronomic systems, students contributed with their own material gathered throughout the academic year. All students decided to contribute via Facebook, in stead of Twitter, which was not known to most of them. The final result was a visual and dynamic tool which students could use to train and perfect skills adopted in the classroom using case-studies and examples from their immediate environment.

Beyond conservation agriculture

PubMed Central

Giller, Ken E.; Andersson, Jens A.; Corbeels, Marc; Kirkegaard, John; Mortensen, David; Erenstein, Olaf; Vanlauwe, Bernard

2015-01-01

Global support for Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a pathway to Sustainable Intensification is strong. CA revolves around three principles: no-till (or minimal soil disturbance), soil cover, and crop rotation. The benefits arising from the ease of crop management, energy/cost/time savings, and soil and water conservation led to widespread adoption of CA, particularly on large farms in the Americas and Australia, where farmers harness the tools of modern science: highly-sophisticated machines, potent agrochemicals, and biotechnology. Over the past 10 years CA has been promoted among smallholder farmers in the (sub-) tropics, often with disappointing results. Growing evidence challenges the claims that CA increases crop yields and builds-up soil carbon although increased stability of crop yields in dry climates is evident. Our analyses suggest pragmatic adoption on larger mechanized farms, and limited uptake of CA by smallholder farmers in developing countries. We propose a rigorous, context-sensitive approach based on Systems Agronomy to analyze and explore sustainable intensification options, including the potential of CA. There is an urgent need to move beyond dogma and prescriptive approaches to provide soil and crop management options for farmers to enable the Sustainable Intensification of agriculture. PMID:26579139

7 CFR 634.3 - Administration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... conservation districts, State soil and water conservation agencies, or State water quality agencies to... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM General § 634.3 Administration. At the national...

7 CFR 634.3 - Administration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... conservation districts, State soil and water conservation agencies, or State water quality agencies to... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM General § 634.3 Administration. At the national...

7 CFR 634.3 - Administration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... conservation districts, State soil and water conservation agencies, or State water quality agencies to... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM General § 634.3 Administration. At the national...

The Effects of Long Time Conservation of Heavily Grazed Shrubland: A Case Study in the Northern Negev, Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leu, Stefan; Mussery, Amir Mor; Budovsky, Arie

2014-08-01

One of the major reasons for desertification is unrestricted grazing leading to vegetation depletion, soil erosion and degradation, phenomena often considered irreversible in the short term. Here, we compare soil and biological parameters of degraded and conserved, recently rehabilitated arid shrubland in the Northern Negev, Israel. The study area was restored by conservation efforts including a strictly controlled grazing regime initiated in 1992. The visually recognizable improvement in the ecology of the restored shrubland is reflected in significant improvement in all examined biotic (herbaceous biomass, shrub patch density, and insect activity), and soil parameters (nutrients, organic matter content, moisture, and water infiltration). The difference is created predominantly by restoration of large biological patches composed of shrubs and other perennial plants often associated with ant or termite nests, where the most significant increases in productivity and soil quality were observed. In the conserved shrubland such patches covered 35 or 25 % of the area (in a normal and a drought year, respectively). In the degraded shrubland 5 % or less of the area was occupied by such patches that were much smaller and of lower biological complexity. With respect to plant biodiversity, six plant species were found only—and 18 others became significantly more common—in the rehabilitated area. The results of this article indicate that functional arid drylands can be restored within <16 years relying on strict conservation management with reduced grazing intensity.

Development of a soil conservation standard and guidelines for OHV recreation management in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bedrossian, T.L.; Reynolds, S.D.

2007-01-01

In 2004, the California State Parks (CSP) agency contracted with the California Geological Survey (CGS) to update the 1991 Soil Conservation Guide-lines/Standards for Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Management. Per state legislation, the 1991 standards were updated to establish a generic and measurable standard at least sufficient to allow restoration of OHV areas and trails. Given the rapid increase in OHV use in California, the updated Soil Conservation Standard and Guidelines for OHV Recreation Management also allowed for sustainability of trail systems and recreation opportunities. A key part of the update was interaction with stakeholders, agencies, and other interest groups through public workshops and a Consulting Agency Review Committee composed of representatives from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey, California Department of Conservation, and CSP. CGS also assessed proposed revisions in three representative OHV areas to ensure that the updated Standard and Guidelines provided sufficient flexibility to allow their application to all sites state-wide, ecosystems with multiple geology and soils types, and a variety of vehicle uses. While geology was not the only basis for the guideline revisions, it was a major factor. CGS staff also had the breadth of knowledge and experience in engineering geology, hydrogeology, road and trail construction, erosion control, and OHV riding necessary to coordinate and develop the multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder effort.

The Effects of Reduced Tillage on Phosphate Transport from Agricultural Land.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-01-01

SOLUBLE INORGANIC I’IIOSPIORUS IN RUNOFF ................................................... 12 .F.ECT OF PHOSPHATE FERTILI ZATION ON LOSSES OF AVAILABLE...an reverse side if necessary end identifY by block number) Conservation Tillage Soil Loss Phosphorus Loss Surface Runoff 20 AMThAC? fCinf--- mbb iV...tillage (primarily no till) versus conventional tillage on surface runoff , soil loss and phosphorus loss. The data show that conservation tillage

Soil Conservation Techniques for Hillside Farms. A Guide for Peace Corps Volunteers. Appropriate Technologies for Development. Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange Reprint Series No. R-62.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crozier, Carl

This guide provides agricultural extensionists with basic information that will help them design plans for the conservation of soils and the management of water runoff in specific agricultural plots. It is based on experiences with small hillside farms in Honduras and takes into account the resources and constraints commonly encountered there.…

Significant trade-off for the impact of Grain-for-Green Programme on ecosystem services in North-western Yunnan, China.

PubMed

Wang, Jitao; Peng, Jian; Zhao, Mingyue; Liu, Yanxu; Chen, Yunqian

2017-01-01

Ecological restoration can mitigate human disturbance to the natural environment and restore ecosystem functions. China's Grain-for-Green Programme (GFGP) has been widely adopted in the last 15years and exerted significant impact on land-use and ecosystem services. North-western Yunnan is one of the key areas of GFGP implementation in the upper Yangtze River. Promotion of ecosystem services in this region is of great importance to the ecological sustainability of Yangtze River watershed. In this study, remote sensing and modelling techniques are applied to analyse the impact of GFGP on ecosystem services. Results show that the transformation from non-irrigated farmland to forestland could potentially improve soil conservation by 24.89%. Soil conservation of restored forest was 78.17% of retained forest while net primary production (NPP) already reached 88.65%, which suggested different recovery rates of NPP and soil conservation. Increasing extent of GFGP implementation improved soil conservation but decreased NPP and water yield at sub-watershed scale, which revealed trade-offs between ecosystem services under ecological restoration. Future ecosystem management and GFGP policy-making should consider trade-offs of ecosystem services in order to achieve sustainable provision of ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bacterial Communities in Malagasy Soils with Differing Levels of Disturbance Affecting Botanical Diversity

PubMed Central

Blasiak, Leah C.; Schmidt, Alex W.; Andriamiarinoro, Honoré; Mulaw, Temesgen; Rasolomampianina, Rado; Applequist, Wendy L.; Birkinshaw, Chris; Rejo-Fienena, Félicitée; Lowry, Porter P.; Schmidt, Thomas M.; Hill, Russell T.

2014-01-01

Madagascar is well-known for the exceptional biodiversity of its macro-flora and fauna, but the biodiversity of Malagasy microbial communities remains relatively unexplored. Understanding patterns of bacterial diversity in soil and their correlations with above-ground botanical diversity could influence conservation planning as well as sampling strategies to maximize access to bacterially derived natural products. We present the first detailed description of Malagasy soil bacterial communities from a targeted 16S rRNA gene survey of greater than 290,000 sequences generated using 454 pyrosequencing. Two sampling plots in each of three forest conservation areas were established to represent different levels of disturbance resulting from human impact through agriculture and selective exploitation of trees, as well as from natural impacts of cyclones. In parallel, we performed an in-depth characterization of the total vascular plant morphospecies richness within each plot. The plots representing different levels of disturbance within each forest did not differ significantly in bacterial diversity or richness. Changes in bacterial community composition were largest between forests rather than between different levels of impact within a forest. The largest difference in bacterial community composition with disturbance was observed at the Vohibe forest conservation area, and this difference was correlated with changes in both vascular plant richness and soil pH. These results provide the first survey of Malagasy soil bacterial diversity and establish a baseline of botanical diversity within important conservation areas. PMID:24465484

Assessing degradation of abandoned farmlands for conservation of the Monte Desert biome in Argentina.

PubMed

Yannelli, Florencia A; Tabeni, Solana; Mastrantonio, Leandro E; Vezzani, Nazareth

2014-01-01

Land abandonment is a major issue worldwide. In Argentina, the Monte Desert is the most arid rangeland, where the traditional conservation practices are based on successional management of areas excluded to disturbances or abandoned. Some areas subjected to this kind of management may be too degraded, and thus require active restoration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether passive succession-based management is a suitable approach by evaluating the status of land degradation in a protected area after 17-41 years of farming abandonment. Soil traits and plant growth forms were quantified and compared between sites according to time since abandonment and former land use (cultivation and grazing). Two variables were calculated using the CORINE-CEC method, i.e., potential (PSER) and actual (ASER) soil erosion risk. PSER indicates the erosion risk when no vegetation is present, while ASER includes the protective role of vegetation cover. Results showed that land use history had no significant effect on plant growth forms or soil traits (p > 0.05). After more than 25 years since abandonment of farming activities, soil conditions and vegetation cover had improved, thus having a lower ASER. Nevertheless, the present soil physical crusts may have delayed the full development of vegetation, enhancing erosion processes. Overall, this study indicates that succession-based management may not be the best practice in terms of conservation. Therefore, any effort for conservation in the Monte Desert should contemplate the current status of land degradation and potential vegetation recovery.

Aggregate stability and water retention near saturation characteristics as affected by soil texture, aggregate size and polyacrylamide application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding the effects of soil intrinsic properties and extrinsic conditions on aggregate stability is essential for the development of effective soil and water conservation practices. Our objective was to evaluate the combined role of soil texture, aggregate size and application of a stabilizing...

Effects of Tillage, Cultivar and Fungicide on Phomopsis Longicolla and Cercospora Kukuchii in Soybean

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

It has become a standard practice for farmers to use a no-till production system where crop residue are left on the soil surface rather than incorporated into the soil. This practice helps reduce soil erosion, conserve energy, increase soil moisture, and reduce erosion. However, many plant pathogens...

Effect of tillage, cultivar and fungicide on Phomopsis longicolla and Cercospora kukuchii in soybean

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

It has become a standard practice for farmers to use a no-till production system where crop residue are left on the soil surface rather than incorporated into the soil. This practice helps reduce soil erosion, conserve energy, increase soil moisture, and reduce erosion. However, many plant pathogens...

Accounting for green vegetation and soil spectral properties to improve remote sensing of crop residue cover

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation tillage methods are beneficial as they disturb soil less and leaves increased crop residue cover (CRC) after planting on the soil surface. CRC helps reduce soil erosion, evaporation, and the need for tillage operations in fields. Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to due to less fos...

Effects of long-term soil management on the mutual interaction among soil organic matter, microbial activity and aggregates in vineyard

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Vineyard management practices to enhance soil conservation principally focus on increasing carbon (C) input, whereas mitigating impacts of disturbance through reduced tillage has been rarely considered. Furthermore, information is lacking on the effects of soil management practices adopted in the un...

Conserving Soil. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

This book of enrichment materials is an interdisciplinary study of soil designed for students in grades 6-9. The materials are presented in three units. Unit 1 contains eight activities in which students investigate soil science and study the social impact of soil by examining the history of land use by local Native Americans. Unit 2 contains 10…

7 CFR 621.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... delegation of authority to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide national leadership for the conservation, development, and productive use of the Nation's soil, water, and related...

Soil erodibility for water erosion: A perspective and Chinese experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bin; Zheng, Fenli; Römkens, Mathias J. M.; Darboux, Frédéric

2013-04-01

Knowledge of soil erodibility is an essential requirement for erosion prediction, conservation planning, and the assessment of sediment related environmental effects of watershed agricultural practices. This paper reviews the status of soil erodibility evaluations and determinations based on 80 years of upland area erosion research mainly in China and the USA. The review synthesizes the general research progress made by discussing the basic concepts of erodibility and its evaluation, determination, and prediction as well as knowledge of its spatio-temporal variations. The authors found that soil erodibility is often inappropriately or inaccurately applied in describing soil loss caused by different soil erosion component processes and mechanisms. Soil erodibility indicators were related to intrinsic soil properties and exogenic erosional forces, measurements, and calculations. The present review describes major needs including: (1) improved definition of erodibility, (2) modified erodibility determinations in erosion models, especially for specific geographical locations and in the context of different erosion sub-processes, (3) advanced methodologies for quantifying erodibilities of different soil erosion sub-processes, and (4) a better understanding of the mechanism that causes temporal variations in soil erodibility. The review also provides a more rational basis for future research on soil erodibility and supports predictive modeling of soil erosion processes and the development of improved conservation practices.

7 CFR 1466.20 - Application for contracts and selecting applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... concerning soil, water and air quality; wildlife habitat; and ground and surface water conservation; (vi... include water conservation or irrigation efficiency practices, the State Conservationist will give... conservation practices; (ii) The magnitude of the expected environmental benefits resulting from the...

7 CFR 1466.20 - Application for contracts and selecting applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... concerning soil, water and air quality; wildlife habitat; and ground and surface water conservation; (vi... include water conservation or irrigation efficiency practices, the State Conservationist will give... conservation practices; (ii) The magnitude of the expected environmental benefits resulting from the...

7 CFR 1901.254 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., drainage, and other soil and water conservation and use facilities. (6) Loans to acquire and develop... improve: (i) Community water, sanitary sewage, solid waste disposal, and storm waste water disposal... Conservation Service (SCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to conserve and develop natural resources...

7 CFR 1466.20 - Application for contracts and selecting applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... concerning soil, water and air quality; wildlife habitat; and ground and surface water conservation; (vi... include water conservation or irrigation efficiency practices, the State Conservationist will give... conservation practices; (ii) The magnitude of the expected environmental benefits resulting from the...

Impact of weather and climate scenarios on conservation assessment outcomes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper reviews selected watershed studies of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) and interprets findings from the perspective of potential climate change impacts on conservation outcomes. Primary foci are runoff, soil erosion, sediment transport, watershed sediment yield, and asso...

7 CFR 1465.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... document that identifies the location and timing of conservation practices that the participant agrees to... Chief of NRCS, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), or designee. Conservation district means... law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water conservation program...

7 CFR 1465.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... document that identifies the location and timing of conservation practices that the participant agrees to... Chief of NRCS, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), or designee. Conservation district means... law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water conservation program...

7 CFR 1465.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... document that identifies the location and timing of conservation practices that the participant agrees to... Chief of NRCS, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), or designee. Conservation district means... law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water conservation program...

Forest calcium depletion and biotic retention along a soil nitrogen gradient

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perakis, Steven S.; Sinkhorn, Emily R.; Catricala, Christina; Bullen, Thomas D.; Fitzpatrick, John A.; Hynicka, Justin D.; Cromack, Kermit

2013-01-01

High nitrogen (N) accumulation in terrestrial ecosystems can shift patterns of nutrient limitation and deficiency beyond N toward other nutrients, most notably phosphorus (P) and base cations (calcium [Ca], magnesium [Mg], and potassium [K]). We examined how naturally high N accumulation from a legacy of symbiotic N fixation shaped P and base cation cycling across a gradient of nine temperate conifer forests in the Oregon Coast Range. We were particularly interested in whether long-term legacies of symbiotic N fixation promoted coupled N and organic P accumulation in soils, and whether biotic demands by non-fixing vegetation could conserve ecosystem base cations as N accumulated. Total soil N (0–100 cm) pools increased nearly threefold across the N gradient, leading to increased nitrate leaching, declines in soil pH from 5.8 to 4.2, 10-fold declines in soil exchangeable Ca, Mg, and K, and increased mobilization of aluminum. These results suggest that long-term N enrichment had acidified soils and depleted much of the readily weatherable base cation pool. Soil organic P increased with both soil N and C across the gradient, but soil inorganic P, biomass P, and P leaching loss did not vary with N, implying that historic symbiotic N fixation promoted soil organic P accumulation and P sufficiency for non-fixers. Even though soil pools of Ca, Mg, and K all declined as soil N increased, only Ca declined in biomass pools, suggesting the emergence of Ca deficiency at high N. Biotic conservation and tight recycling of Ca increased in response to whole-ecosystem Ca depletion, as indicated by preferential accumulation of Ca in biomass and surface soil. Our findings support a hierarchical model of coupled N–Ca cycling under long-term soil N enrichment, whereby ecosystem-level N saturation and nitrate leaching deplete readily available soil Ca, stimulating biotic Ca conservation as overall supply diminishes. We conclude that a legacy of biological N fixation can increase N and P accumulation in soil organic matter to the point that neither nutrient is limiting to subsequent non-fixers, while also resulting in natural N saturation that intensifies base cation depletion and deficiency.

18 CFR 801.9 - Watershed management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... Accordingly the Commission will maintain close liaison with Federal, State, and local highway, mining, soil... management including soil and water conservation measures, land restoration and rehabilitation, erosion...

18 CFR 801.9 - Watershed management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

.... Accordingly the Commission will maintain close liaison with Federal, State, and local highway, mining, soil... management including soil and water conservation measures, land restoration and rehabilitation, erosion...

Critical Source Area Delineation: The representation of hydrology in effective erosion modeling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fowler, A.; Boll, J.; Brooks, E. S.; Boylan, R. D.

2017-12-01

Despite decades of conservation and millions of conservation dollars, nonpoint source sediment loading associated with agricultural disturbance continues to be a significant problem in many parts of the world. Local and national conservation organizations are interested in targeting critical source areas for control strategy implementation. Currently, conservation practices are selected and located based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) hillslope erosion modeling, and the National Resource Conservation Service will soon be transiting to the Watershed Erosion Predict Project (WEPP) model for the same purpose. We present an assessment of critical source areas targeted with RUSLE, WEPP and a regionally validated hydrology model, the Soil Moisture Routing (SMR) model, to compare the location of critical areas for sediment loading and the effectiveness of control strategies. The three models are compared for the Palouse dryland cropping region of the inland northwest, with un-calibrated analyses of the Kamiache watershed using publicly available soils, land-use and long-term simulated climate data. Critical source areas were mapped and the side-by-side comparison exposes the differences in the location and timing of runoff and erosion predictions. RUSLE results appear most sensitive to slope driving processes associated with infiltration excess. SMR captured saturation excess driven runoff events located at the toe slope position, while WEPP was able to capture both infiltration excess and saturation excess processes depending on soil type and management. A methodology is presented for down-scaling basin level screening to the hillslope management scale for local control strategies. Information on the location of runoff and erosion, driven by the runoff mechanism, is critical for effective treatment and conservation.

Using 13C labeled glucose to determine soil microbial and physical controls of new C incorporation under drying-rewetting cycles and conservation agricultural management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L.; Schaeffer, S. M.

2017-12-01

Drying-rewetting cycles can induce carbon (C) depletion in soil, while conservation agricultural management aims at soil C sequestration. Understanding the combined effect of drying-rewetting cycles and conservation management is critical for sustaining agricultural soil under climate change. Soil organic C can be stored in a relatively rapidly cycling active pool, or a more slowly cycling passive pool. We conducted a 24-days mesocosm incubation using an agricultural soil from western Tennessee under 35-years of conservation management. Different lengths of drought period before rewetting of 0, 3, 6, and 24 days were applied on the mesocosms. To trace the fate of newly added C, 13C labeled glucose was added to the mesocosms at the beginning of the incubation. After 24 days, dissolvable organic C, microbial biomass C, accumulative microbial respiration, and extracellular enzyme activity were analyzed to evaluate the active C pool; hydrogen peroxide oxidation and aggregate size fractionation were used to examine the passive C pool. The highest cumulative microbial respiration was found in the 6-days treatment combining a N-fixing cover crop with no-tillage, and the lowest in the 24-day treatment with a wheat cover crop combined with conventional-tillage (1000.0±20.5 and 106.8±17.5 µg C-CO2 g-1 dry soil, respectively). The 6-days treatment induced 0.5-4.3 times higher cumulative C-CO2 emission than the 3-days treatment. The proportion of macroaggregates in bulk soil varied between 97.2% and 76.7%, and it was negatively correlated with drying-rewetting frequency. The proportion of microaggregates in bulk soil varied between 21.9% and 2.1%, and it was positively correlated with drying-rewetting frequency. 13C recovery rate in bulk soil varied between 11-53%. The vetch-cover-crop-with-no-tillage treatment facilitated 13C accumulation the most. Our results show that the N fixing cover crops combined with no-tillage treatment induced the highest C accumulation in bulk soil, while the no cover crop combined with conventional tillage induced the lowest C concentration. Our results show that frequent drying-rewetting cycles disrupt macroaggregates and release the microaggregates within macroaggregates, and favor greater C loss combined with greater C storage in less stable aggregate fractions.

Predicting improved optical water quality in rivers resulting from soil conservation actions on land.

PubMed

Dymond, J R; Davies-Colley, R J; Hughes, A O; Matthaei, C D

2017-12-15

Deforestation in New Zealand has led to increased soil erosion and sediment loads in rivers. Increased suspended fine sediment in water reduces visual clarity for humans and aquatic animals and reduces penetration of photosynthetically available radiation to aquatic plants. To mitigate fine-sediment impacts in rivers, catchment-wide approaches to reducing soil erosion are required. Targeting soil conservation for reducing sediment loads in rivers is possible through existing models; however, relationships between sediment loads and sediment-related attributes of water that affect both ecology and human uses of water are poorly understood. We present methods for relating sediment loads to sediment concentration, visual clarity, and euphotic depth. The methods require upwards of twenty concurrent samples of sediment concentration, visual clarity, and euphotic depth at a river site where discharge is measured continuously. The sediment-related attributes are related to sediment concentration through regressions. When sediment loads are reduced by soil conservation action, percentiles of sediment concentration are necessarily reduced, and the corresponding percentiles of visual clarity and euphotic depth are increased. The approach is demonstrated on the Wairua River in the Northland region of New Zealand. For this river we show that visual clarity would increase relatively by approximately 1.4 times the relative reduction of sediment load. Median visual clarity would increase from 0.75m to 1.25m (making the river more often suitable for swimming) after a sediment load reduction of 50% associated with widespread soil conservation on pastoral land. Likewise euphotic depth would increase relatively by approximately 0.7 times the relative reduction of sediment load, and the median euphotic depth would increase from 1.5m to 2.0m with a 50% sediment load reduction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 611.2 - Cooperative relationships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.2 Cooperative relationships. (a) Soil surveys on nonfederal lands are carried out cooperatively with State agricultural experiment... setting forth guidelines for actions to be taken by each cooperating party in the performance of soil...

7 CFR 611.2 - Cooperative relationships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.2 Cooperative relationships. (a) Soil surveys on nonfederal lands are carried out cooperatively with State agricultural experiment... setting forth guidelines for actions to be taken by each cooperating party in the performance of soil...

30 CFR 823.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Responsibilities. (a) The U.S. Soil Conservation Service within each State shall establish specifications for prime farmland soil removal, storage, replacement, and reconstruction. (b) The regulatory authority within each State shall use the soil-reconstruction specifications of paragraph (a) of this section to carry out its...

30 CFR 823.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Responsibilities. (a) The U.S. Soil Conservation Service within each State shall establish specifications for prime farmland soil removal, storage, replacement, and reconstruction. (b) The regulatory authority within each State shall use the soil-reconstruction specifications of paragraph (a) of this section to carry out its...

30 CFR 823.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Responsibilities. (a) The U.S. Soil Conservation Service within each State shall establish specifications for prime farmland soil removal, storage, replacement, and reconstruction. (b) The regulatory authority within each State shall use the soil-reconstruction specifications of paragraph (a) of this section to carry out its...

30 CFR 823.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Responsibilities. (a) The U.S. Soil Conservation Service within each State shall establish specifications for prime farmland soil removal, storage, replacement, and reconstruction. (b) The regulatory authority within each State shall use the soil-reconstruction specifications of paragraph (a) of this section to carry out its...

7 CFR 611.2 - Cooperative relationships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.2 Cooperative relationships. (a) Soil surveys on nonfederal lands are carried out cooperatively with State agricultural experiment... setting forth guidelines for actions to be taken by each cooperating party in the performance of soil...

7 CFR 611.2 - Cooperative relationships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.2 Cooperative relationships. (a) Soil surveys on nonfederal lands are carried out cooperatively with State agricultural experiment... setting forth guidelines for actions to be taken by each cooperating party in the performance of soil...

7 CFR 611.2 - Cooperative relationships.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS SOIL SURVEYS General § 611.2 Cooperative relationships. (a) Soil surveys on nonfederal lands are carried out cooperatively with State agricultural experiment... setting forth guidelines for actions to be taken by each cooperating party in the performance of soil...

30 CFR 823.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Responsibilities. (a) The U.S. Soil Conservation Service within each State shall establish specifications for prime farmland soil removal, storage, replacement, and reconstruction. (b) The regulatory authority within each State shall use the soil-reconstruction specifications of paragraph (a) of this section to carry out its...

7 CFR 1491.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Secretary. It has the special combination of soil quality, location, growing season, and moisture supply... included use could lead to the degradation of soils and agriculture productivity, NRCS reserves the right... the landowner through the local soil conservation district, in consultation with the local committees...

7 CFR 1491.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Secretary. It has the special combination of soil quality, location, growing season, and moisture supply... included use could lead to the degradation of soils and agriculture productivity, NRCS reserves the right... the landowner through the local soil conservation district, in consultation with the local committees...

7 CFR 1491.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Secretary. It has the special combination of soil quality, location, growing season, and moisture supply... included use could lead to the degradation of soils and agriculture productivity, NRCS reserves the right... the landowner through the local soil conservation district, in consultation with the local committees...

Reducing sediment inputs to Scottish streams: a review of the efficacy of soil conservation practices in upland forestry.

PubMed

Carling, P A; Irvine, B J; Hill, A; Wood, M

2001-01-29

The historical process by which a soil conservation strategy has evolved within the UK forestry industry is briefly reviewed. Particular attention is given to the development of practical and effective guidelines to prevent both soil damage and sediment entering water courses. It is concluded that the 'Forest and Water Guidelines', together with other forest industry manuals, largely provide adequate protection for aquatic habitats from pre-afforestation cultivation and from harvesting activities. The problem of soil erosion owing to ploughing of open furrows has largely been obviated by improved drainage network design coupled with the use of vegetated buffer strips and sediment catchpits. Alternative site preparation techniques, such as 'moling' or 'dolloping' of afforestation sites, are now preferred. However, the effects on slope hydrology and the improved soil conservation associated with these methods require quantifying. Additional understanding of effective buffer strip function, for example, on a variety of slope angles, soil types and vegetation associations would be beneficial. The design of forest roads and the associated network of drains, culverts and sediment catchpits is addressed in forestry guidelines. Future potential in this area may involve the use of Geographical Information Systems in the effective design of road networks which minimise adverse effects on slope hydrology. Similarly computer simulation of flow routing might aid in the design of road drain networks. At the more local scale there remains scope for further research aimed at minimising soil disturbance by machinery. Consideration should also be given to the long-term sustainability of the soil structure through second and subsequent crop rotations.

Readings in Wildlife and Fish Conservation, High School Conservation Curriculum Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ensminger, Jack

This publication is a tentative edition of readings on Wildlife and Fish Conservation in Louisiana, and as such it forms part of one of the four units of study designed for an experimental high school course, the "High School Conservation Curriculum Project." The other three units are concerned with Forest Conervation, Soil and Water…

USDA-NRCS conservation practice standard: amending soil properties with gypsum products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The US Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Service is tasked with providing support to preserve the nation’s natural resources. They provide farmers with financial and technical assistance to voluntarily put conservation practices on the ground by promoting methods to preserve ...

Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Audubon Society, New York, NY.

This set of teaching aids consists of seven Audubon Nature Bulletins, providing the teacher and student with informational reading on various topics in conservation. The bulletins have these titles: Plants as Makers of Soil, Water Pollution Control, The Ground Water Table, Conservation--To Keep This Earth Habitable, Our Threatened Air Supply,…

TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING CONSERVATION EDUCATION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BROWN, ROBERT E.; MOUSER, G.W.

CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES, FIELD METHODS AND TECHNIQUES, AND SPECIFIC FIELD LEARNING ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REFERENCE VOLUME FOR TEACHERS. CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES INCLUDE STATEMENTS PERTAINING TO (1) SOIL, (2) WATER, (3) FOREST, AND (4) WILDLIFE. FIELD METHODS AND TECHNIQUES INCLUDE (1) PREPARING FOR A FIELD TRIP, (2) GETTING STUDENT…

Biodiversity and Archeological Conservation Connected: Aragonite Shell Middens Increase Plant Diversity

PubMed Central

Vanderplank, Sula E.; Mata, Sergio; Ezcurra, Exequiel

2014-01-01

Natural and cultural heritage sites frequently have nonoverlapping or even conflicting conservation priorities, because human impacts have often resulted in local extirpations and reduced levels of native biodiversity. Over thousands of years, the predictable winter rains of northwestern Baja California have weathered calcium from the clam shells deposited by indigenous peoples in middens along the coast. The release of this calcium has changed soil properties, remediated sodic and saline soils, and resulted in a unique microhabitat that harbors plant assemblages very different from those of the surrounding matrix. Native plant biodiversity and landscape heterogeneity are significantly increased on the anthropogenic soils of these shell middens. Protection of this cultural landscape in the Anthropocene will further both archeological and biodiversity conservation in these anthropogenic footprints from the Holocene. Along these coasts, natural and cultural heritage priorities are overlapping and mutually beneficial. PMID:26955068

Restoration of degraded arid farmland at Project Wadi Attir: Impact of conservation on biological productivity and soil organic matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mor-Mussery, Amir; Helman, David; Ben Eli, Michael; Leu, Stefan

2017-04-01

The Israeli Negev Desert, as most Mediterranean drylands, is profoundly degraded. We have been documenting degradation and successful rehabilitation approaches in recent research, aiming at maximizing environmental and economic benefits while restoring healthy dryland soils and perennial vegetation to act as carbon sinks. These methods have been implemented for rehabilitation of Project Wadi Attir's. 50 hectares of heavily degraded farmland suffering from intensive soil erosion (expressed in dense gullies net and massive overland flow). Project Wadi Attir is a groundbreaking initiative of the Bedouin community in the Negev, for establishing a model sustainable agricultural operation. The project was initiated by the US-based Sustainability Laboratory and the Hura Municipal Council. The project is designed to demonstrate implementation of holistic sustainability principles developed by The Lab. The project's ecosystem restoration component involves site development, erosion control, soil conservation and improvement, planting of native and agroforestry trees, together with conservation and protection of biodiversity hotspots and avoiding grazing have, within three years, revealed the high biodiversity and productivity potential of this arid/semi-arid landscape. A number of shrublands and loess plots were subject to strict conservation, avoiding tilling and grazing. Soil fertility, productivity and biodiversity of these conserved plots inside the farm boundaries was compared to similar unprotected plots outside the farm fences by sampling in the field and by using satellite imaging. Our findings indicate a gradual improvement of SOM content specifically in the conserved shrubland area. Water infiltration, herbaceous biomass productivity and ants' activity of the protected plots also significantly increased within 3 years compared to the unprotected control areas. Starting from similar soil organic matter content in 2013 (3.3%) in the rocky slopes, in 2016 1% higher SOM was measured inside the farm vs. outside (4.5% compared to 3.5%, respectively). In spring 2014 herbaceous biomass production was similar in both areas (0.05 Kg per m2), while in spring 2016 0.25 Kg per m2 were measured in the pedestal inside the farm compared to 0.06 Kg per m2 outside were observed. Consistent but less dramatic, changes were observed in the loess areas inside the farm with a productivity difference of 1.1 inside compared to 0.19 Kg per m2 outside in 2016 as compared to 0.05 Kg per m2 observed in both areas in 2013. Our results indicate that soil conservation together with proper land management and protection of biodiversity hotspots will enable sustainable agricultural management in degraded drylands all over the globe under significant gains in productivity, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

Classification of Effective Soil Depth by Using Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, C. H.; Chan, H. C.; Chen, B. A.

2016-12-01

Classification of effective soil depth is a task of determining the slopeland utilizable limitation in Taiwan. The "Slopeland Conservation and Utilization Act" categorizes the slopeland into agriculture and husbandry land, land suitable for forestry and land for enhanced conservation according to the factors including average slope, effective soil depth, soil erosion and parental rock. However, sit investigation of the effective soil depth requires a cost-effective field work. This research aimed to classify the effective soil depth by using multinomial logistic regression with the environmental factors. The Wen-Shui Watershed located at the central Taiwan was selected as the study areas. The analysis of multinomial logistic regression is performed by the assistance of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The effective soil depth was categorized into four levels including deeper, deep, shallow and shallower. The environmental factors of slope, aspect, digital elevation model (DEM), curvature and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were selected for classifying the soil depth. An Error Matrix was then used to assess the model accuracy. The results showed an overall accuracy of 75%. At the end, a map of effective soil depth was produced to help planners and decision makers in determining the slopeland utilizable limitation in the study areas.

Sediment and solute transport in a mountainous watershed in Valle del Cauca, Colombia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzman, C. D.; Castro, A.; Morales, A.; Hoyos, F.; Moreno, P.; Steenhuis, T. S.

2014-12-01

A main goal of this study was to improve prediction of sediment and solute transport using soil surface and soil nutrient changes, based on field measurements, within small watersheds receiving conservation measures. Sediment samples and solute concentrations were measured from two streams in the southwestern region of the Colombian Andes. Two modeling approaches for stream discharge and sediment transport predicted were used with one of these being used for nutrient transport prediction. These streams are a part of a recent initiative from a water fund established by Asobolo, Asocaña, and Cenicaña in collaboration with the Natural Capital Project to improve conservation efforts and monitor their effects. On-site soil depth changes, groundwater depth measurements, and soil nutrient concentrations were also monitored to provide more information about changes within this mountainous watershed during one part of the yearly rainy season. This information is being coupled closely with the outlet sediment concentration and solute concentration patterns to discern correlations. Lateral transects in the upper, middle, and lower part of the hillsides in the Aguaclara watershed of the Rio Bolo watershed network showed differences in soil nutrient status and soil surface depth changes. The model based on semi-distributed hydrology was able to reproduce discharge and sediment transport rates as well as the initially used model indicating available options for comparison of conservation changes in the future.

Vegetation types on acid soils of Micronesia

Treesearch

Marjorie C. Falanruw; Thomas G.. Cole; Craig D. Whitesell

1987-01-01

The soils and vegetation of the Caroline high islands, Federated States of Micronesia, are being mapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Soil Conservation Service. By the end of 1987, vegetation maps and reports on Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap, four Truk Islands, and Palau are expected to be available. To compare soil types with vegetation types...

Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources

Treesearch

Brian G. Tavernia; Mark D. Nelson; Titus S. Seilheimer; Dale D. Gormanson; Charles H. (Hobie) Perry; Peter V. Caldwell; Ge. Sun

2016-01-01

Forest ecosystem productivity and functioning depend on soil and water resources. But the reverse is also true—forest and land-use management activities can significantly alter forest soils, water quality, and associated aquatic habitats (Ice and Stednick 2004, Reid 1993, Wigmosta and Burges 2001). Soil and water resources are protected through the allocation of land...

Soil and Water Indicators of the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable

Treesearch

M.G. Sherm Karl; D.A. Pyke; P.T. Tueller; G.E. Schuman; R.W. Shafer; S.J. Borchard; D.T. Booth; W.G. Ypsilantis; R.H. Jr. Barrett

2006-01-01

The Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable (SRR) has explicitly included conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources as a criterion, a category of conditions or processes that can be assessed nationally to determine if the current level of rangeland management will ensure sustainability. Within the soil/water criterion, 10 indicators, 5 soil-based and 5 water-...

Applicability of 239Pu as a tracer for soil erosion in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lal, R.; Tims, S. G.; Fifield, L. K.; Wasson, R. J.; Howe, D.

2013-01-01

The technique of accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS) has been employed to determine modern soil loss rates through the analysis of 239Pu profiles in soil cores from the Daly basin in Northern Territory, Australia. In areas in which soil conservation banks were not present or were only added recently (<25a) and which had a history of grazing and cultivation the measured soil loss rates over the past ∼50 years were 7.5-19.5 t ha-1 a-1. The measured rates are up to 5 times higher compared to agricultural and uncultivated areas within soil conservation banks in other parts of the catchment. High intensity seasonal rainfall combined with reduction in land cover due to grazing and episodic bush fires are primary factors influencing erosion although other impacts on the landscape such as tillage generated runoff and land clearing seem to be responsible for accelerated sediment production.

Memorandum on availability of ground water for irrigation in certain areas of eastern Arkansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennis, P.E.; ,

1957-01-01

This memorandum was prepared in response to a request from the Soil Conservation Service, Little Rock, Ark., for information on the future prospects of irrigation of rice with water from wells in certain areas in the basins of the Bache, St. Francis, and L'Anguille Rivers, Big and Dials Creeks, and Bayou Meto and the Bouef-Tensas-Macon basin. It was prepared as a aprt of the Statewide ground-water investigation in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological and Conservation Commission ad the University of Arkansas. The specific areas and water requirement specified by the Soil Conservation Service are listed in the appendix.

7 CFR 764.231 - Conservation loan uses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... not limited to: (1) The installation of conservation structures to address soil, water, and related... management systems; (5) The establishment or improvement of permanent pasture; and (6) Other purposes...

Quantitative simulation tools to analyze up- and downstream interactions of soil and water conservation measures: supporting policy making in the Green Water Credits program of Kenya.

PubMed

Hunink, J E; Droogers, P; Kauffman, S; Mwaniki, B M; Bouma, J

2012-11-30

Upstream soil and water conservation measures in catchments can have positive impact both upstream in terms of less erosion and higher crop yields, but also downstream by less sediment flow into reservoirs and increased groundwater recharge. Green Water Credits (GWC) schemes are being developed to encourage upstream farmers to invest in soil and water conservation practices which will positively effect upstream and downstream water availability. Quantitative information on water and sediment fluxes is crucial as a basis for such financial schemes. A pilot design project in the large and strategically important Upper-Tana Basin in Kenya has the objective to develop a methodological framework for this purpose. The essence of the methodology is the integration and use of a collection of public domain tools and datasets: the so-called Green water and Blue water Assessment Toolkit (GBAT). This toolkit was applied in order to study different options to implement GWC in agricultural rainfed land for the pilot study. Impact of vegetative contour strips, mulching, and tied ridges were determined for: (i) three upstream key indicators: soil loss, crop transpiration and soil evaporation, and (ii) two downstream indicators: sediment inflow in reservoirs and groundwater recharge. All effects were compared with a baseline scenario of average conditions. Thus, not only actual land management was considered but also potential benefits of changed land use practices. Results of the simulations indicate that especially applying contour strips or tied ridges significantly reduces soil losses and increases groundwater recharge in the catchment. The model was used to build spatial expressions of the proposed management practices in order to assess their effectiveness. The developed procedure allows exploring the effects of soil conservation measures in a catchment to support the implementation of GWC. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil erosion-runoff relationships: insights from laboratory studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamedov, Amrakh; Warrington, David; Levy, Guy

2016-04-01

Understanding the processes and mechanisms affecting runoff generation and subsequent soil erosion in semi-arid regions is essential for the development of improved soil and water conservation management practices. Using a drip type laboratory rain simulator, we studied runoff and soil erosion, and the relationships between them, in 60 semi-arid region soils varying in their intrinsic properties (e.g., texture, organic matter) under differing extrinsic conditions (e.g., rain properties, and conditions prevailing in the field soil). Both runoff and soil erosion were significantly affected by the intrinsic soil and rain properties, and soil conditions within agricultural fields or watersheds. The relationship between soil erosion and runoff was stronger when the rain kinetic energy was higher rather than lower, and could be expressed either as a linear or exponential function. Linear functions applied to certain limited cases associated with conditions that enhanced soil structure stability, (e.g., slow wetting, amending with soil stabilizers, minimum tillage in clay soils, and short duration exposure to rain). Exponential functions applied to most of the cases under conditions that tended to harm soil stability (e.g., fast wetting of soils, a wide range of antecedent soil water contents and rain kinetic energies, conventional tillage, following biosolid applications, irrigation with water of poor quality, consecutive rain simulations). The established relationships between runoff and soil erosion contributed to a better understanding of the mechanisms governing overland flow and soil loss, and could assist in (i) further development of soil erosion models and research techniques, and (ii) the design of more suitable management practices for soil and water conservation.

Assessment of spatial distribution of soil loss over the upper basin of Miyun reservoir in China based on RS and GIS techniques.

PubMed

Chen, Tao; Niu, Rui-qing; Wang, Yi; Li, Ping-xiang; Zhang, Liang-pei; Du, Bo

2011-08-01

Soil conservation planning often requires estimates of the spatial distribution of soil erosion at a catchment or regional scale. This paper applied the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to investigate the spatial distribution of annual soil loss over the upper basin of Miyun reservoir in China. Among the soil erosion factors, which are rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), slope length (L), slope steepness (S), vegetation cover (C), and support practice factor (P), the vegetative cover or C factor, which represents the effects of vegetation canopy and ground covers in reducing soil loss, has been one of the most difficult to estimate over broad geographic areas. In this paper, the C factor was estimated based on back propagation neural network and the results were compared with the values measured in the field. The correlation coefficient (r) obtained was 0.929. Then the C factor and the other factors were used as the input to RUSLE model. By integrating the six factor maps in geographical information system (GIS) through pixel-based computing, the spatial distribution of soil loss over the upper basin of Miyun reservoir was obtained. The results showed that the annual average soil loss for the upper basin of Miyun reservoir was 9.86 t ha(-1) ya(-1) in 2005, and the area of 46.61 km(2) (0.3%) experiences extremely severe erosion risk, which needs suitable conservation measures to be adopted on a priority basis. The spatial distribution of erosion risk classes was 66.9% very low, 21.89% low, 6.18% moderate, 2.89% severe, and 1.84% very severe. Thus, by using RUSLE in a GIS environment, the spatial distribution of water erosion can be obtained and the regions which susceptible to water erosion and need immediate soil conservation planning and application over the upper watershed of Miyun reservoir in China can be identified.

Effects of agricultural conservation practices on N loads in the Mississippi-Atchafalya River Basin

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A modeling framework consisting of a farm-scale model, Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender (APEX); a watershedscale model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT); and databases was used in the Conservation Effects Assessment Project to quantify the environmental benefits of conservation practi...

Pest management through tropical tree conservation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

When discussing the need to improve conservation programs for native forests, arguments such as the role of vegetation in water catchment and soil conservation or as sources of food, medicines, firewood and lumber, and habitat for wildlife are commonly used. Here we argue that many native species o...

Conservation and sediment yield on the Fort Cobb reservoir watershed

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Prior to about 1950, conservation practices on the Fort Cobb Reservoir watershed in West-Central Oklahoma were few and mostly demonstration type projects. Extensive soil conservation measures were implemented in the second half of the 20th century. Fortuitously, the U.S. Geological Survey collecte...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in national parks, nature reserves and protected areas worldwide: a strategic perspective for their in situ conservation.

PubMed

Turrini, Alessandra; Giovannetti, Manuela

2012-02-01

Soil fungi play a crucial role in producing fundamental ecosystem services such as soil fertility, formation and maintenance, nutrient cycling and plant community dynamics. However, they have received little attention in the field of conservation biology. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial soil symbionts fulfilling a key function in the complex networks of belowground/aboveground biotic interactions as they live in association with the roots of most (80%) land plant families and influence not only soil fertility but also plant nutrition, diversity and productivity. The diversity of AMF communities can decline due to habitat loss and anthropogenic disturbance, especially in agro-ecosystems, and many valuable ecotypes could become extinct before they are even discovered. Consequently, long-term strategies are urgently needed to ensure their conservation in habitats where they naturally occur and have evolved. Protected areas, where living organisms are under the care of national and international authorities, represent an appropriate place for the in situ conservation of AMF, providing them with adapted situations together with established complex networks of interactions with different components within each specific ecosystem. Here, we review data available about the main present-day threats to AMF and the current state of knowledge about their occurrence in protected sites worldwide, providing a checklist of national parks and nature reserves where they have been reported. The aim was to offer a strategic perspective to increase awareness of the importance of conserving these beneficial plant symbionts and of preserving their biodiversity in the years to come.

Sensitivity of CEAP cropland simulations to the parameterization of the APEX model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For large scale applications like the U.S. National Scale Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), soil hydraulic characteristics data are not readily available and therefore need to be estimated. Field soil water properties are commonly approximated using laboratory soil water retention meas...

Soil management and conservation: Irrigation: Methods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Irrigation applies water to soil to improve crop production. The three main methods of irrigation are surface, sprinkler and micro. Surface irrigation is used on 85% of the irrigated land in the world. It generally requires lower capital investment because the soil conveys water within the field, ra...

Agro-hydrologic landscapes in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins.

PubMed

Schilling, Keith E; Wolter, Calvin F; McLellan, Eileen

2015-03-01

A critical part of increasing conservation effectiveness is targeting the "right practice" to the "right place" where it can intercept pollutant flowpaths. Conceptually, these flowpaths can be inferred from soil and slope characteristics, and in this study, we developed an agro-hydrologic classification to identify N and P loss pathways and priority conservation practices in small watersheds in the U.S. Midwest. We developed a GIS framework to classify 11,010 small watersheds in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins based on soil permeability and slope characteristics of agricultural cropland areas in each watershed. The amount of cropland in any given watershed varied from <10 to >60 %. Cropland areas were classified into five main categories, with slope classes of <2, 2-5, and >5 %, and soil drainage classes of poorly and well drained. Watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River basin (UMRB) were dominated by cropland areas in low slopes and poorly drained soils, whereas less-intensively cropped watersheds in Wisconsin and Minnesota (in the UMRB) and throughout the Ohio River basin were overwhelmingly well drained. Hydrologic differences in cropped systems indicate that a one-size-fits-all approach to conservation selection will not work. Consulting the classification scheme proposed herein may be an appropriate first-step in identifying those conservation practices that might be most appropriate for small watersheds in the basin.

7 CFR 1468.20 - Application for CFO program participation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... program payments allowed, offering to apply more conservation practices to the land in order to increase... benefits; (4) Soil productivity; (5) Conservation compliance considerations; (6) Likelihood to remain in...

Estimated Annual Net Change in Soil Carbon per US County, 1990-2004

DOE Data Explorer

West, Tristram O.; Brandt, Craig C.; Wilson, Bradly S.; Hellwinckel, Chap M.; Tyler, Donald D.; Marland, Gregg; De La Torre Ugarte, Daniel D.; Larson, James A.; Nelson, Richard G.

2008-01-01

These data represent the estimated net change (Megagram per year) in soil carbon due to changes in the crop type and tillage intensity. Estimated accumulation of soil carbon under Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)lands is included in these estimates. Negative values represent a net flux from the atmosphere to the soil; positive values represent a net flux from the soil to the atmosphere. As such, soil carbon sequestration is represented here as a negative value.

Soil Security Assessment of Tasmania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, Damien; Kidd, Darren; McBratney, Alex

2017-04-01

The concept of soil security aligns well with the aspirational and marketing policies of the Tasmanian Government, where increased agricultural expansion through new irrigation schemes and multiple-use State managed production forests co-exists beside pristine World Heritage conservation land, a major drawcard of the economically important tourism industry . Regarding the Sustainable Development Gaols (SDG's) this could be seen as a exemplar of the emerging tool for quantification of spatial soil security to effectively protect our soil resource in terms of food (SDG 2.4, 3.9) and water security (SDG 6.4, 6.6), biodiversity maintenance and safeguarding fragile ecosystems (SDG 15.3, 15.9). The recent development and application of Digital Soil Mapping and Assessment capacities in Tasmania to stimulate agricultural production and better target appropriate soil resources has formed the foundational systems that can enable the first efforts in quantifying and mapping Tasmanian Soil Security, in particular the five Soil Security dimensions (Capability, Condition, Capital, Codification and Connectivity). However, to provide a measure of overall soil security, it was necessary to separately assess the State's three major soil uses; Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. These products will provide an indication of where different activities are sustainable or at risk, where more soil data is needed, and provide a tool to better plan for a State requiring optimal food and fibre production, without depleting its natural soil resources and impacting on the fragile ecosystems supporting environmental benefits and the tourism industry.

An integrated modeling approach for estimating the water quality benefits of conservation practices at the river basin scale.

PubMed

Santhi, C; Kannan, N; White, M; Di Luzio, M; Arnold, J G; Wang, X; Williams, J R

2014-01-01

The USDA initiated the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) to quantify the environmental benefits of conservation practices at regional and national scales. For this assessment, a sampling and modeling approach is used. This paper provides a technical overview of the modeling approach used in CEAP cropland assessment to estimate the off-site water quality benefits of conservation practices using the Ohio River Basin (ORB) as an example. The modeling approach uses a farm-scale model, Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender (APEX), and a watershed scale model (the Soil and Water Assessment Tool [SWAT]) and databases in the Hydrologic Unit Modeling for the United States system. Databases of land use, soils, land use management, topography, weather, point sources, and atmospheric depositions were developed to derive model inputs. APEX simulates the cultivated cropland, Conserve Reserve Program land, and the practices implemented on them, whereas SWAT simulates the noncultivated land (e.g., pasture, range, urban, and forest) and point sources. Simulation results from APEX are input into SWAT. SWAT routes all sources, including APEX's, to the basin outlet through each eight-digit watershed. Each basin is calibrated for stream flow, sediment, and nutrient loads at multiple gaging sites and turned in for simulating the effects of conservation practice scenarios on water quality. Results indicate that sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loads delivered to the Mississippi River from ORB could be reduced by 16, 15, and 23%, respectively, due to current conservation practices. Modeling tools are useful to provide science-based information for assessing existing conservation programs, developing future programs, and developing insights on load reductions necessary for hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Role of the check dam in land development on the Loess Plateau, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xiang-Zhou; Zhang, Luo-Hao; Zhu, Tongxin; Dang, Tian-Min; Zhang, Hong-Wu; Xu, Shi-Guo

2017-04-01

Check dam is one of the most effective measures to reduce flow connectivity, which can retain soil and water, and increase land productivity. More than 100,000 check dams have been built on the Loess Plateau since 1950s. However, quantifying the effect of check dams on water resources and water environments remains a challenge. In this study, an in-depth field investigation together with a credible statistical analysis was carried out in two representative catchments on the Loess Plateau, Nanxiaohegou Catchment and Jiuyuangou Catchment, to assess the effectiveness of check dams in soil, water and nutrients conservation. The results show: (1) Check dam plays an important role in conserving water, soil, and nutrients on the Loess Plateau. About half of the total transported water and more than 80 % of the total transported soil and nutrients, had been locally retained in the selected catchments. Hence check dams had a significant benefit to improve soil fertility in the small watersheds, and reducing water pollution downstream of dams. (2) Compared to terrace farmlands, forest lands and grasslands, check-dam lands were much more important in conserving water, soil and nutrients in the catchments. Nearly 50% of the reduced water and more than 70% of the stored soil and nutrients in the study catchments were solely retained by the check dams, whereas the area of the dam lands was less than 7% of the total conservation land area. (3) Check dams are still effective in large storms even if dams were damaged by floods. It is often assumed that check dams could only retain sediment in small flood events whereas most of the stored soil may be washed out as the dams may be destroyed in a disastrous flood. Furthermore, if a major check dam, namely the key project dam, was built in the gully outlet, the flood could be controlled, and thereupon the dam-break can be also avoided. We suggest that a compensation and incentive policy be implemented on dam building to realize the sustainable development of local economy and ecological environment.

Soil properties and soil nitrogen dynamics of prairie-like forest openings and surrounding forests in Kentucky's Knobs Region

Treesearch

C.C. Rhoades; S.P. Miller; M.M. Shea

2004-01-01

Herbaceous communities located within forest openings increase plant species diversity of forests in the Knobs Region of Kentucky. Although these grass-dominated communities are protected and managed for rare plant species conservation, it is unclear how soil conditions may delineate the grassland-forest boundary. We compared soil chemical and physical properties and...

Soil and ecological sites of the Santa Rita Experimental Range

Treesearch

Donald J. Breckenfeld; Daniel Robinett

2003-01-01

A soil survey and rangeland resource inventory of the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was conducted by staff from the Tucson office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) during April and May of 1997. Thirty-two soils series and taxadjuncts were mapped on the SRER and delineated in 24 different mapping units. These soils all occur in an Aridic and...

Criterion 4: Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Francisco X. Aguilar; Nianfu Song; Susan I. Stewart; David J. Nowak; Dale D. Gormanson; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Eric J. Greenfield

2012-01-01

Soils are the fundamental resource enabling land to provide a wide array of benefits. Both humans and wildlife rely on soils for the production of life-sustaining nourishment and shelter. Soil is important to society because it supports plants that supply food, fibers, drugs, and other essentials and because it filters water and recycles wastes.The factors that affect...

Soil Erosion: Advanced Crop and Soil Science. A Course of Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Larry E.

The course of study represents the last of six modules in advanced crop and soil science and introduces the agriculture student to the topic of soil erosion. Upon completion of the two day lesson, the student will be able to: (1) define conservation, (2) understand how erosion takes place, and (3) list ways of controlling wind and water erosion.…

Hydrology and Conservation Ecology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanan, M.

2006-12-01

Responses to change in the behavior of ecological systems are largely governed by interactions at different levels. Research is essential and is to be necessarily designed to gain insights into various interactions at the community level. Sustainable resource management is only possible if conservation of biodiversity can be accomplished by properly using the knowledge discovered. It is well known that the United States Department of Agriculture provides technical information, resources, and data necessary to assist the researchers in addressing their conservation needs. Conservation aims to protect, preserve and conserve the earth's natural resources. These include, but not limited to the conservation of soil, water, minerals, air, plants and all living beings. The United States Department of Agriculture also encourages farmers and ranchers to voluntarily address threats to soil and water. Protection of wetlands and wildlife habitat has been on the radar screen of conservation experts for a very long time. The main objective has always been to help farmers and landowners conform and comply with federal and state environmental laws. During the implementation phase, farmers should be encouraged to make beneficial, cost-effective changes to methods of irrigation systems. In some cases, the hydrologic regime of the project area can be thought of as principally an issue of river flow regimes for floodplain forests. In this presentation, the author tries to focus on the impact of hydrology and conservation ecology on global warming. He also discusses the impact of hydrology and conservation ecology global air concerns such as greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. References: Chow, V. T, D. R. Maidment, and L. W. Mays. 1988. Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, Inc. U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Technical Release 55: Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds. USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). June 1986. Lehner, B. and P. Döll (2004). Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. Journal of Hydrology 296/1-4. 1-22. http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov http://www.ceh-nerc.ac.uk http://www.usda.gov

Participatory GIS for Soil Conservation in Phewa Watershed of Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhandari, K. P.

2012-07-01

Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) can integrate participatory methodologies with geo-spatial technologies for the representation of characteristic of particular place. Over the last decade, researchers use this method to integrate the local knowledge of community within a GIS and Society conceptual framework. Participatory GIS are tailored to answer specific geographic questions at the local level and their modes of implementation vary considerably across space, ranging from field-based, qualitative approaches to more complex web-based applications. These broad ranges of techniques, PGIS are becoming an effective methodology for incorporating community local knowledge into complex spatial decision-making processes. The objective of this study is to reduce the soil erosion by formulating the general rule for the soil conservation by participation of the stakeholders. The poster was prepared by satellite image, topographic map and Arc GIS software including the local knowledge. The data were collected from the focus group discussion and the individual questionnaire for incorporate the local knowledge and use it to find the risk map on the basis of economic, social and manageable physical factors for the sensitivity analysis. The soil erosion risk map is prepared by the physical factors Rainfall-runoff erosivity, Soil erodibility, Slope length, Slope steepness, Cover-management, Conservation practice using RUSLE model. After the comparison and discussion among stakeholders, researcher and export group, and the soil erosion risk map showed that socioeconomic, social and manageable physical factors management can reduce the soil erosion. The study showed that the preparation of the poster GIS map and implement this in the watershed area could reduce the soil erosion in the study area compared to the existing national policy.

Residue Management: A Computer Program About Conservation Tillage Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thien, Steve J.

1986-01-01

Describes a computer program, Residue Management, which is designed to supplement discussions on the Universal Soil Loss Equation and the impact of tillage on soil properties for introductory soil courses. The program advances the user through three stages of residue management. Information on obtaining the program is also included. (ML)

Uncertainty of climate change impacts on soil erosion from cropland in central Oklahoma

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Impacts of climate change on soil erosion and the potential need for additional conservation actions are typically estimated by applying a hydrologic and soil erosion model under present and future climate conditions defined by an emission scenario. Projecting future climate conditions harbors sever...

Alternate data sources for soil surveys on rangeland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horvath, Emil H.; Klingebiel, A.A.; Moore, D.G.; Fosnight, E.A.

1983-01-01

the feasibility of using this approach for producing physiographic maps as an aid for mapping soils and range sites. The project is a cooperative investigation of the Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Soil Conservation Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

Dynamic effects of biochar concentration and particle size on hydraulic properties of sand

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Large-scale application of biochar has been promoted as a strategy for reclaiming degraded soils and conserving natural landscapes because of biochar potentials to alter the soil biogeochemical and physical properties and improve soil quality. Several studies have reported that biochar amendment at ...

Multiple microbial activity-based measures reflect effects of cover cropping and tillage on soils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural producers, conservation professionals, and policy makers are eager to learn of soil analytical techniques and data that document improvement in soil health by agricultural practices such as no-till and incorporation of cover crops. However, there is considerable uncertainty within the r...

Soil Organic Carbon Fractions Differ in Two Contrasting Tall Fescue Systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The value of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) for C sequestration in addition to forage production and soil conservation is of current interest. However, studies relating to the impacts of endophyte infected (E+) and endophyte free (E-) tall fescue on soil organic matter fractions are few....

Increases of soil phosphatase and urease activities in potato fields by cropping rotation practices

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Potato yield in Maine has remained relatively constant for over 50 years. To identify and quantify constraints to potato productivity, we established Status Quo (SQ), Soil Conserving (SC), Soil Improving (SI), Disease Suppressive (DS), and Continuous Potato (PP) cropping systems under both rainfed ...

Soil and water conservation: Our history and future challenges

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remembering our past is an essential first step into the future. Building upon that philosophy, our objective is to summarize two presentations from a 2012 Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) symposium focused on soil management challenges in response to climate change in order to examine: (1) ho...

The effect of cropping systems and irrigation management on development of potato early blight

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Crop and soil management may modify canopy and belowground microclimate. However, their effects on potential development and control of early blight are not well documented. Crop management systems [Status Quo (SQ), Soil Conserving (SC), Soil Improving (SI), Disease Suppressive (DS), and Continuou...

Hydrologic transport of fecal bacteria attenuated by flu gas desulfurized (FGD) gypsum

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background Flue gas desulfurized (FGD) gypsum is a byproduct of coal-fired power plants. As a soil amendment for crop production it has the potential of improving soil water infiltration, soil conservation, and decreasing nutrient losses from broiler litter applications. Because broiler litter is a ...

An adaptive management process for forest soil conservation.

Treesearch

Michael P. Curran; Douglas G. Maynard; Ronald L. Heninger; Thomas A. Terry; Steven W. Howes; Douglas M. Stone; Thomas Niemann; Richard E. Miller; Robert F. Powers

2005-01-01

Soil disturbance guidelines should be based on comparable disturbance categories adapted to specific local soil conditions, validated by monitoring and research. Guidelines, standards, and practices should be continually improved based on an adaptive management process, which is presented in this paper. Core components of this process include: reliable monitoring...

Herbicide-resistant weeds threaten soil conservation gains: finding a balance for soil and farm sustainability

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tillage has been an integral part of agriculture since the dawn of civilization. Growers and scientists have long recognized both beneficial and detrimental aspects to tillage. There is no question that most tillage promotes soil loss, adversely affects surface water quality and negatively impacts...

Can conservation trump impacts of climate change and extremes on soil erosion in agricultural landscapes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Preservation of top soil is critical for the long term sustainability of agricultural productivity, food security, and biodiversity. However, today’s growing population and increasing demand for food and fiber is stressing the agricultural soil and water resources. Climate change imposes additional ...

The development of U.S. soil erosion prediction and modeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil erosion prediction technology began over 70 years ago when Austin Zingg published a relationship between soil erosion (by water) and land slope and length, followed shortly by a relationship that expanded this equation to include conservation practices. But, it was nearly 20 years before this w...

COSMOS soil water sensing affected by crop biomass and water status

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water sensing methods are widely used to characterize water content in the root zone and below, but only a few are capable of sensing soil volumes larger than a few hundred liters. Scientists with the USDA-ARS Conservation & Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, Texas, evaluated: a) the Cos...

Permeability of soils in Mississippi

USGS Publications Warehouse

O'Hara, Charles G.

1994-01-01

The permeability of soils in Mississippi was determined and mapped using a geographic information system (GIS). Soil permeabilities in Mississippi were determined to range in value from nearly 0.0 to values exceeding 5.0 inches per hour. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service's State Soil Geographic Data Base (STATSGO) was used as the primary source of data for the determination of area-weighted soil permeability. STATSGO provides soil layer properties that are spatially referenced to mapped areas. These mapped areas are referred to as polygons in the GIS. The polygons arc boundaries of soils mapped as a group and are given unique Map Unit Identifiers (MUIDs). The data describing the physical characteristics of the soils within each polygon are stored in a tabular data base format and are referred to as attributes. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service developed STATSGO to be primarily used as a guide for regional resource planning, management, and monitoring. STATSGO was designed so that soil information could be extracted from properties tables at the layer level, combined by component, and statistically expanded to cover the entire map unit. The results of this study provide a mapped value for permeability which is representative of the vertical permeability of soils in that area. The resultant permeability map provides a representative vertical soil permeability for a given area sufficient for county, multi- county, and area planning, and will be used as the soil permeability data component in the evaluation of the susceptibility of major aquifers to contami- nation in Mississippi.

Conservation of soil organic carbon, biodiversity and the provision of other ecosystem services along climatic gradients in West Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marks, E.; Aflakpui, G. K. S.; Nkem, J.; Poch, R. M.; Khouma, M.; Kokou, K.; Sagoe, R.; Sebastiã, M.-T.

2008-11-01

Terrestrial carbon resources are major drivers of development in West Africa. The distribution of these resources co-varies with ecosystem type and rainfall along a strong Northeast-Southwest climatic gradient. Soil organic carbon, a strong indicator of soil quality, has been severely depleted in some areas by human activities, which leads to issues of soil erosion and desertification, but this trend can be altered via appropriate management. There is significant potential to enhance existing soil carbon stores in West Africa, with benefits at the global and local scales, for atmospheric CO2 mitigation and supporting, and provisioning ecosystem services, respectively. Three key factors impacting carbon stocks are addressed in this review: climate, biotic factors, and human activities. Climate risks must be considered in a framework of global change, especially in West Africa, where landscape managers have few resources available to adapt to climatic perturbations. Among biotic factors, biodiversity conservation paired with carbon conservation may provide a pathway to sustainable development, as evidence suggests that both may be inter-linked, and biodiversity conservation is also a global priority with local benefits for ecosystem resilience, biomass productivity, and provisioning services such as foodstuffs. Finally, human management has largely been responsible for reduced carbon stocks, but this trend can be reversed through the implementation of appropriate carbon conservation strategies in the agricultural sector, as shown by multiple studies. Owing to the strong regional climatic gradient, country-level initiatives will need to consider carbon sequestration approaches for multiple ecosystem types. Given the diversity of environments, global policies must be adapted and strategised at the national or sub-national levels to improve C storage above and belowground. Initiatives of this sort must act locally at farmer scale, and focus on ecosystem services rather than on carbon sequestration solely.

User-inspired Research Quantifies How Floodplain Restoration Paired With Cover Crops Reduces Nutrient Export From an Agricultural Catchment Translating to Conservation Success in the Midwestern Cornbelt.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tank, J. L.; Hanrahan, B.; Christopher, S. F.; Mahl, U. H.; Royer, T. V.

2017-12-01

The Midwestern US has undergone extensive land use change as forest, wetlands, and prairies have been converted to agroecosystems. Today, excess fertilizer nutrients from farm fields enter agricultural streams, which degrades both local and downstream water quality. We are quantifying the nutrient reduction benefits of two conservation practices implemented at the catchment scale. In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, in a small Indiana catchment, we have quantified how 600m of floodplain restoration (i.e., a two-stage ditch) increased nitrate-N removal via denitrification and reduced sediment export, but impacts on stream nutrient concentrations were negligible due to very high catchment loading relative to the short implementation reach. Requests from state and federal partners led to development and parameterization of a new two-stage ditch module in the SWAT model to determine the potential catchment-scale benefits when implementation lengths were extended. More recently, in partnership with state SWCD managers, we have added a landscape practice to quantify how winter cover crops reduce nutrient loss from fields, sampling year-round nutrient fluxes from multiple subsurface tile drains and longitudinally along the stream channel. Nitrate-N and dissolved P fluxes were significantly lower in tiles draining fields with cover crops compared to those without. At the urging of farmers and federal NRCS partners, we also linked tile drain nutrient reductions to changes in soil chemistry. Both soil nitrate-N and dissolved P were lower in cover cropped fields, and we found significant correlations between soil and tile drain nutrients, which may encourage future adoption of the conservation practice as soil health benefits appeal to farmers. As biogeochemists, this research has provided valuable insights on how floodplains and land cover change can alter patterns of catchment-scale nutrient export. The translation of successful soil and water quality outcomes through this significant regional demonstration project make it a potentially powerful agent of change for advancing conservation success.

Fallout radionuclide-based techniques for assessing the impact of soil conservation measures on erosion control and soil quality: an overview of the main lessons learnt under an FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Project.

PubMed

Dercon, G; Mabit, L; Hancock, G; Nguyen, M L; Dornhofer, P; Bacchi, O O S; Benmansour, M; Bernard, C; Froehlich, W; Golosov, V N; Haciyakupoglu, S; Hai, P S; Klik, A; Li, Y; Lobb, D A; Onda, Y; Popa, N; Rafiq, M; Ritchie, J C; Schuller, P; Shakhashiro, A; Wallbrink, P; Walling, D E; Zapata, F; Zhang, X

2012-05-01

This paper summarizes key findings and identifies the main lessons learnt from a 5-year (2002-2008) coordinated research project (CRP) on "Assessing the effectiveness of soil conservation measures for sustainable watershed management and crop production using fallout radionuclides" (D1.50.08), organized and funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency through the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. The project brought together nineteen participants, from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam, involved in the use of nuclear techniques and, more particularly, fallout radionuclides (FRN) to assess the relative impacts of different soil conservation measures on soil erosion and land productivity. The overall objective of the CRP was to develop improved land use and management strategies for sustainable watershed management through effective soil erosion control practices, by the use of ¹³⁷Cs (half-life of 30.2 years), ²¹⁰Pb(ex) (half-life of 22.3 years) and ⁷Be (half-life of 53.4 days) for measuring soil erosion over several spatial and temporal scales. The environmental conditions under which the different research teams applied the tools based on the use of fallout radionuclides varied considerably--a variety of climates, soils, topographies and land uses. Nevertheless, the achievements of the CRP, as reflected in this overview paper, demonstrate that fallout radionuclide-based techniques are powerful tools to assess soil erosion/deposition at several spatial and temporal scales in a wide range of environments, and offer potential to monitor soil quality. The success of the CRP has stimulated an interest in many IAEA Member States in the use of these methodologies to identify factors and practices that can enhance sustainable agriculture and minimize land degradation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do current European policies support soil multifunctionality?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helming, Katharina; Glaesner, Nadia; de Vries, Wim

2017-04-01

Soils are multifunctional. Maximising one function, e.g. production of biomass, is often at the costs of the other functions, e.g. water purification, carbon sequestration, nutrient recycling, habitat provision. Sustainable soil management actually means the minimization of trade-offs between multiple soil functions. While Europe does not have a policy that explicitly focuses on soil functions, a number of policies exist in the agricultural, environmental and climate domains that may affect soil functions, in particular food production, water purification, climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation. The objective of this study was to identify gaps and overlaps in existing EU legislation that is related to soil functions. We conducted a cross-policy analysis of 19 legislative policies at European level. Results revealed two key findings: (i) soil functions are addressed in existing legislation but with the approach to their conservation rather than their improvement. (ii) Different legislations addressed isolated soil functions but there is no policy in place that actually addressed the soil multifunctionality, which is the integrated balancing of the multitude of functions. Because soil degradation is ongoing in Europe, it raises the question whether existing legislation is sufficient for maintaining soil resources and achieving sustainable soil management. Addressing soil functions individually in various directives fails to account for the multifunctionality of soil. Here, research has a role to play to better reveal the interacting processes between soil functions and their sensitivity to soil management decisions and to translate such understanding into policy recommendation. We conclude the presentation with some insights into a research approach that integrates the soil systems into the socio-economic systems to improve the understanding of soil management pressures, soil functional reactions and their impacts on societal value systems, including resource efficiency, ecosystem services and intergenerational equity.

Improved Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport in GSSHA

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-01

the USLE soil erodibility factor (0-1), soil cropping factor (0-1) and conservation factor (0-1) in the development by Julien (1995). The use of one...factor K represents a departure from Julien (1995), who used all three factors from the Universal Soil Loss Equation ( USLE ). This departure is justi...runoff using a research-quality data set. BACKGROUND: GSSHA simulates overland soil erosion and outputs erosion and deposition for any size class of

Long-term hydrological simulation based on the Soil Conservation Service curve number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Surendra Kumar; Singh, Vijay P.

2004-05-01

Presenting a critical review of daily flow simulation models based on the Soil Conservation Service curve number (SCS-CN), this paper introduces a more versatile model based on the modified SCS-CN method, which specializes into seven cases. The proposed model was applied to the Hemavati watershed (area = 600 km2) in India and was found to yield satisfactory results in both calibration and validation. The model conserved monthly and annual runoff volumes satisfactorily. A sensitivity analysis of the model parameters was performed, including the effect of variation in storm duration. Finally, to investigate the model components, all seven variants of the modified version were tested for their suitability.

Development of a New Zealand SedNet model for assessment of catchment-wide soil-conservation works

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dymond, John R.; Herzig, Alexander; Basher, Les; Betts, Harley D.; Marden, Mike; Phillips, Chris J.; Ausseil, Anne-Gaelle E.; Palmer, David J.; Clark, Maree; Roygard, Jon

2016-03-01

Much hill country in New Zealand has been converted from indigenous forest to pastoral agriculture, resulting in increased soil erosion. Following a severe storm that hit the Manawatu-Wanaganui region in 2004 and caused 62,000 landslides, the Horizons Regional Council have implemented the Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI), a programme of widespread soil conservation. We have developed a New Zealand version (SedNetNZ) of the Australian SedNet model to evaluate the impact of the SLUI programme in the 5850 km2 Manawatu catchment. SedNetNZ spatially distributes budgets of fine sediment in the landscape. It incorporates landslide, gully, earthflow erosion, surficial erosion, bank erosion, and flood-plain deposition, the important forms of soil erosion in New Zealand. Modelled suspended sediment loads compared well with measured suspended sediment loads with an R2 value of 0.85 after log transformation. A sensitivity analysis gave the uncertainty of estimated suspended sediment loads to be approximately plus or minus 50% (at the 95% confidence level). It is expected that by 2040, suspended sediment loads in targeted water management zones will decrease by about 40%. The expected decrease for the whole catchment is 34%. The expected reduction is due to maturity of tree planting on land at risk to soil erosion. The 34% reduction represents an annual rate of return of 20% on 20 million NZ of investment on soil conservation works through avoided damage to property and infrastructure and avoided clean-up costs.

Sediment and solute transport in a mountainous watershed in Valle del Cauca, Colombia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzman, Christian; Hoyos Villada, Fanny; Morales Vargas, Amalia; Rivera, Baudelino; Da Silva, Mayesse; Moreno Padilla, Pedro; Steenhuis, Tammo

2015-04-01

Sediment samples and solute concentrations were measured from the La Vega micro watershed in the southwestern region of the Colombian Andes. A main goal of this study was to improve prediction of soil surface and soil nutrient changes, based on field measurements, within small basin of the Aguaclara watershed network receiving different types of conservation measures. Two modeling approaches for stream discharge and sediment transport predictions were used with one of these based on infiltration-excess and the other on saturation-excess runoff. These streams are a part of a recent initiative from a water fund established by Asobolo, Asocaña, and Cenicaña in collaboration with the Natural Capital Project to improve conservation efforts and monitor their effects. On-site soil depth changes, groundwater depth measurements, and soil nutrient concentrations were also monitored to provide more information about changes within this mountainous watershed during one part of the yearly rainy season. This information is being coupled closely with the outlet sediment concentration and solute concentration patterns to discern correlations between scales. Lateral transects in the upper, middle, and lower part of the hillsides in the La Vega micro watershed showed differences in soil nutrient status and soil surface depth changes. The model based on saturation-excess, semi-distributed hydrology was able to reproduce discharge and sediment transport rates as well as the initially used infiltration excess model indicating available options for comparison of conservation changes in the future.

USDA/federal user of LANDSAT remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, R.

1981-01-01

Developed and potential uses of remote sensing in crop condition and acreage assessment, renewable resources inventories, conservation practices, and water and forest management applications are described. Operational approaches, the adaptation of procedures to needs, and the agency's concern about data continuity and cost are discussed as well as support for future technology development for enhanced sensing capability. The use of improved camera systems for soil mapping and conservation monitoring from space shuttle, and of aerospace radar to improve soil moisture monitoring are mentioned.

Application of spatial Markov chains to the analysis of the temporal-spatial evolution of soil erosion.

PubMed

Liu, Ruimin; Men, Cong; Wang, Xiujuan; Xu, Fei; Yu, Wenwen

Soil and water conservation in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China is important, and soil erosion is a significant issue. In the present study, spatial Markov chains were applied to explore the impacts of the regional context on soil erosion in the Xiangxi River watershed, and Thematic Mapper remote sensing data from 1999 and 2007 were employed. The results indicated that the observed changes in soil erosion were closely related to the soil erosion levels of the surrounding areas. When neighboring regions were not considered, the probability that moderate erosion transformed into slight and severe erosion was 0.8330 and 0.0049, respectively. However, when neighboring regions that displayed intensive erosion were considered, the probabilities were 0.2454 and 0.7513, respectively. Moreover, the different levels of soil erosion in neighboring regions played different roles in soil erosion. If the erosion levels in the neighboring region were lower, the probability of a high erosion class transferring to a lower level was relatively high. In contrast, if erosion levels in the neighboring region were higher, the probability was lower. The results of the present study provide important information for the planning and implementation of soil conservation measures in the study area.

A revealed preference approach to estimating supply curves for ecosystem services: use of auctions to set payments for soil erosion control in Indonesia.

PubMed

Jack, B Kelsey; Leimona, Beria; Ferraro, Paul J

2009-04-01

To supply ecosystem services, private landholders incur costs. Knowledge of these costs is critical for the design of conservation-payment programs. Estimating these costs accurately is difficult because the minimum acceptable payment to a potential supplier is private information. We describe how an auction of payment contracts can be designed to elicit this information during the design phase of a conservation-payment program. With an estimate of the ecosystem-service supply curve from a pilot auction, conservation planners can explore the financial, ecological, and socioeconomic consequences of alternative scaled-up programs. We demonstrate the potential of our approach in Indonesia, where soil erosion on coffee farms generates downstream ecological and economic costs. Bid data from a small-scale, uniform-price auction for soil-conservation contracts allowed estimates of the costs of a scaled-up program, the gain from integrating biophysical and economic data to target contracts, and the trade-offs between poverty alleviation and supply of ecosystem services. Our study illustrates an auction-based approach to revealing private information about the costs of supplying ecosystem services. Such information can improve the design of programs devised to protect and enhance ecosystem services.

The potential of carbon and nitrogen isotopes to conservatively discriminate between subsoil sediment sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laceby, J. Patrick; Olley, Jon

2013-04-01

Moreton Bay, in South East Queensland, Australia, is a Ramsar wetland of international significance. A decline of the bay's ecosystem health has been primarily attributed to sediments and nutrients from catchment sources. Sediment budgets for three catchments indicated gully erosion dominates the supply of sediment in Knapp Creek and the Upper Bremer River whereas erosion from cultivated soils is the primary sediment source in Blackfellow Creek. Sediment tracing with fallout-radionuclides confirmed subsoil erosion processes dominate the supply of sediment in Knapp Creek and the Upper Bremer River whereas in Blackfellow Creek cultivated and subsoil sources contribute >90% of sediments. Other sediment properties are required to determine the relative sediment contributions of channel bank, gully and cultivated sources in these catchments. The potential of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) to conservatively discriminate between subsoil sediment sources is presented. The conservativeness of these sediment properties was examined through evaluating particle size variations in depth core soil samples and investigating whether they remain constant in source soils over two sampling occasions. Varying conservative behavior and source discrimination was observed. TN in the

Economics, Ethics, Ecology: Roots of Productive Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeske, Walter E., Ed.

Forty-seven articles represent most of the papers presented at the annual meeting of the Soil Conservation Society of America. The conference addressed the facts and values from economics, ethics, and ecology as they pertain to critical issues in land and water conservation in North America. Part I includes discussions of economic realities,…

75 FR 75959 - Notice of Intent: To Request a Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-07

..., and entities. These contracts provide for making land use changes and installing conservation measures and practices to conserve, develop, and use the soil, water, and related natural resources on private... ranching community to conserve and sustain our natural resources on privately owned land. The purpose of...

Historical periods of tree planting in the South

Treesearch

George Hernandez

2012-01-01

From 1932 to 2011, 4 distinct periods of tree planting characterized the history of state nurseries in the South. These periods were associated with 4 major programs: the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Soil Bank program, the Conservation Reserve Program, and the expanded Conservation Reserve Program. Throughout these programs, state nurseries fluctuated in numbers...

Analysis of SURRGO Data and Obtaining Soil Texture Classifications for Simulating Hydrologic Processes

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-01

Note (CHETN) describes a method using the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Soil Survey Geographic...the general texture classifications. 2. Another source for soil information, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO...science studies such as agriculture , geology, geomorphology, engineering, biology, history, etc. (Soil Survey Division Staff 1993). The procedure pulls

Consider the Soil First. Narrative Guide for Color Slide Set and Film Strip C-183.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

The importance of soil, its use and suitability for agriculture and building construction, and the need for and value of soil surveys are emphasized in this pamphlet. It serves as the script for a set of color slides and filmstrip produced by the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each of the 73 frames is illustrated with…

Transport properties of soil particles in Sakiyamawan-Amitoriwan nature conservation area, Iriomote Island, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimokawa, Shinya; Murakami, Tomokazu; Kohno, Hiroyoshi; Mizutani, Akira

2017-12-01

The actual states of soil particle transport in and exchange between the Sakiyama and Amitori bays, Iriomote Island, Japan, were investigated using atmosphere-ocean-river observations and numerical simulations. The results show that in summer in both bays large particles (≥15 μm) do not move from the vicinity of the river mouths. Small particles, however, do move to the respective east sides of the bays. In winter in both the bays, large particles move towards the center of the bays from the vicinity of the river mouths, whereas small particles move to the respective west sides of the bays. Furthermore, soil particles move mainly from the Sakiyama to the Amitori bay in summer, but this direction is reversed in winter. These features are explainable mainly by seasonal differences in wind speed and direction, but the combination among seasonal differences in wind speed and direction, the wind-driven current and the topography is also important for them. The results are useful for assessing soil particle impact on coastal marine ecosystems, such as those containing reef-building coral and Enhalus acoroides, and their effective conservation in the natural conservation areas of the Sakiyama and Amitori bays.

Soil ingestion: a concern for acute toxicity in children.

PubMed Central

Calabrese, E J; Stanek, E J; James, R C; Roberts, S M

1997-01-01

Several soil ingestion studies have indicated that some children ingest substantial amounts of soil on given days. Although the EPA has assumed that 95% of children ingest 200 mg soil/day or less for exposure assessment purposes, some children have been observed to ingest up to 25-60 g soil during a single day. In light of the potential for children to ingest such large amounts of soil, an assessment was made of the possibility for soil pica episodes to result in acute intoxication from contaminant concentrations the EPA regards as representing conservative screening values (i.e., EPA soil screening levels and EPA Region III risk-based concentrations for residential soils). For a set of 13 chemicals included in the analysis, contaminant doses resulting from a one-time soil pica episode (5-50 g of soil ingested) were compared with acute dosages shown to produce toxicity in humans in clinical studies or case reports. For four of these chemicals, a soil pica episode was found to result in a contaminant dose approximating or exceeding the acute human lethal dose. For five of the remaining chemicals, the contaminant dose from a soil pica episode was well within the reported dose range in humans for toxicity other than lethality. Because both the exposure episodes and the toxicological response information are derived from observations in humans, these findings are regarded as particularly relevant for human health risk assessment. They suggest that, for some chemicals, ostensibly conservative soil criteria based on chronic exposure using current EPA methodology may not be protective of children during acute soil pica episodes. PMID:9405323

Conservation of Water and Related Land Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldwell, Lynton K.

1984-04-01

The author was quite clear about the purpose of this book and clearly achieved his intent. In his preface, the author states, “The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with a broad understanding of the topics relevant to the management of the nation's water and related land resources.” The book is a product of the author's 20 years of work as a teacher, consultant, researcher, and student of watershed management and hydrology and has served as a text for a course entitled Soil and Water Conservation, which the author has taught at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse, New York. But it was also written with the intent to be of use “to informal students of water and land related resources on the national level as well.” The objectives of Black's course at Syracuse and its larger purpose define the scope of the book which, again in the author's words, have been “(1) to acquaint students with principles of soil and water conservation; (2) to stimulate an appreciation for an integrated, comprehensive approach to land management; (3) to illustrate the influence of institutional, economic, and cultural forces on the practice of soil and water conservation; and (4) to provide information, methods, and techniques by which soil and water conservation measures are applied to land, as well as the basis for predicting and evaluating results.” The book is written in straightforward nontechnical language and provides the reader with a set of references, a table of cases, a list of abbreviations, and an adequate index. It impresses this reviewer as a very well edited piece of work.

77 FR 31443 - Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-25

... dishwashers with a separate soil- sensing cycle, and the normal cycle definition, power supply and detergent... Soiling Requirements 5. Detergent Dosing Specifications E. Incorporation by Reference of an Updated AHAM...: (1) The addition of a method to rate the efficiency of soil-sensing products; (2) the addition of a...

Can cover crops pull double duty: Conservation and profitable forage production in the Midwestern U.S.?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Data from a recent survey suggests that the major reasons Nebraska farmer’s plant cover crops are to: improve soil organic matter, reduce erosion, improve soil water holding capacity, produce forage, and increase soil microbial biomass. Many of these benefits appear to be positively correlated with...

Soil functional zone management: a vehicle for enhancing production and soil ecosystem services in row-crop agroecosystems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is increasing demand for food, bioenergy feedstocks and a wide variety of bio-based products. In response, agriculture has made great gains in production, but is increasingly depleting soil regulating and supporting ecosystem services. New production systems have emerged, such as Conservation ...

Terrace effects on soil erosion processes in a watershed of the loess plateau

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Terraces in crop fields are one of the most important soil and water conservation measures that affect runoff and erosion processes in a watershed. In this paper, terrace effects on soil erosion and sediment transport in the upstream and middle sections of the Weihe River basin in the Loess Plateau ...

Soil water sensing for climate change studies; Applicability of COSMOS and local sensor networks

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water sensors are used to characterize water content in the near-surface, the root zone and below for agricultural and ecosystem management, but only a few are capable of sensing soil volumes larger than a few hundred liters. Scientists with the USDA-ARS Conservation & Production Research Labor...

Soil characteristics of the vadose zone in the flood plain of the Tarim River

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Overflow from rivers plays an important role in ecological conservation. The desert-oasis ecotone in the Tarim River Basin of Northwest China, for example, relies upon overflow from the river to support a diversity of soil, vegetation, and wildlife. There is, however, limited information on soil tex...

Issues of Spatial and Temporal Scale in Modeling the Effects of Field Operatiions on Soil Properties

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tillage is an important procedure for modifying the soil environment in order to enhance crop growth and conserve soil and water resources. Process-based models of crop production are widely used in decision support, but few explicitly simulate tillage. The Cropping Systems Model (CSM) was modified ...

Microbial responses to disturbance following the conversion of CRP land to cropland under water limiting conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The conversion of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands to croplands potentially reduces ecological benefits such as high soil health condition that resist to disturbance (i.e. extreme weather). Soil CO2 flux primarily comes from root and microbes’ respirations and is sensitive to changes in soil...

A large scale GIS geodatabase of soil parameters supporting the modeling of conservation practice alternatives in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Water quality modeling requires across-scale support of combined digital soil elements and simulation parameters. This paper presents the unprecedented development of a large spatial scale (1:250,000) ArcGIS geodatabase coverage designed as a functional repository of soil-parameters for modeling an...

7 CFR 650.21 - Working relations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and related State...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... standards. (iii) Consider EPA needs in soil survey and land, inventory, and monitoring activities. (iv... EIS's. (v) Advise EPA regarding soils, plant materials, and soil and water conservation techniques..., transport of pesticides, organic matter and fertilizers, and burning of residues or clearing debris. (2) The...

7 CFR 650.21 - Working relations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and related State...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... standards. (iii) Consider EPA needs in soil survey and land, inventory, and monitoring activities. (iv... EIS's. (v) Advise EPA regarding soils, plant materials, and soil and water conservation techniques..., transport of pesticides, organic matter and fertilizers, and burning of residues or clearing debris. (2) The...

7 CFR 650.21 - Working relations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and related State...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... standards. (iii) Consider EPA needs in soil survey and land, inventory, and monitoring activities. (iv... EIS's. (v) Advise EPA regarding soils, plant materials, and soil and water conservation techniques..., transport of pesticides, organic matter and fertilizers, and burning of residues or clearing debris. (2) The...

7 CFR 650.21 - Working relations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and related State...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... standards. (iii) Consider EPA needs in soil survey and land, inventory, and monitoring activities. (iv... EIS's. (v) Advise EPA regarding soils, plant materials, and soil and water conservation techniques..., transport of pesticides, organic matter and fertilizers, and burning of residues or clearing debris. (2) The...

7 CFR 650.21 - Working relations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and related State...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... standards. (iii) Consider EPA needs in soil survey and land, inventory, and monitoring activities. (iv... EIS's. (v) Advise EPA regarding soils, plant materials, and soil and water conservation techniques..., transport of pesticides, organic matter and fertilizers, and burning of residues or clearing debris. (2) The...

Using Conservation Systems to Alleviate Soil Compaction in a Southeastern United States Ultisol

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Coastal Plain soils are prone to compaction and tend to form hardpans which restrict root growth and reduce yields. The adoption of non-inversion deep tillage has been recommended to disrupt compacted soil layers and create an adequate medium for crop development. In spite of its efficacy, increased...

Measurement of the fluorescence of crop residues: A tool for controlling soil erosion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daughtry, C. S. T.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III; Chappelle, E. W.; Hunter, W. J.

1994-01-01

Management of crop residues, the portion of a crop left in the field after harvest, is an important conservation practice for minimizing soil erosion and for improving water quality. Quantification of crop residue cover is required to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation tillage practices. Methods are needed to quantify residue cover that are rapid, accurate, and objective. The fluorescence of crop residue was found to be a broadband phenomenon with emission maxima at 420 to 495 nm for excitations of 350 to 420 nm. Soils had low intensity broadband emissions over the 400 to 690 nm region for excitations of 300 to 600 nm. The range of relative fluorescence intensities for the crop residues was much greater than the fluorescence observed of the soils. As the crop residues decompose their blue fluorescence values approach the fluorescence of the soil. Fluorescence techniques are concluded to be less ambiguous and better suited for discriminating crop residues and soils than reflectance methods. If properly implemented, fluorescence techniques can be used to quantify, not only crop residue cover, but also photosynthetic efficiency in the field.

An integrated WebGIS framework for volunteered geographic information and social media in soil and water conservation.

PubMed

Werts, Joshua D; Mikhailova, Elena A; Post, Christopher J; Sharp, Julia L

2012-04-01

Volunteered geographic information and social networking in a WebGIS has the potential to increase public participation in soil and water conservation, promote environmental awareness and change, and provide timely data that may be otherwise unavailable to policymakers in soil and water conservation management. The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop a framework for combining current technologies, computing advances, data sources, and social media; and (2) develop and test an online web mapping interface. The mapping interface integrates Microsoft Silverlight, Bing Maps, ArcGIS Server, Google Picasa Web Albums Data API, RSS, Google Analytics, and Facebook to create a rich user experience. The website allows the public to upload photos and attributes of their own subdivisions or sites they have identified and explore other submissions. The website was made available to the public in early February 2011 at http://www.AbandonedDevelopments.com and evaluated for its potential long-term success in a pilot study.

An Integrated WebGIS Framework for Volunteered Geographic Information and Social Media in Soil and Water Conservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werts, Joshua D.; Mikhailova, Elena A.; Post, Christopher J.; Sharp, Julia L.

2012-04-01

Volunteered geographic information and social networking in a WebGIS has the potential to increase public participation in soil and water conservation, promote environmental awareness and change, and provide timely data that may be otherwise unavailable to policymakers in soil and water conservation management. The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop a framework for combining current technologies, computing advances, data sources, and social media; and (2) develop and test an online web mapping interface. The mapping interface integrates Microsoft Silverlight, Bing Maps, ArcGIS Server, Google Picasa Web Albums Data API, RSS, Google Analytics, and Facebook to create a rich user experience. The website allows the public to upload photos and attributes of their own subdivisions or sites they have identified and explore other submissions. The website was made available to the public in early February 2011 at http://www.AbandonedDevelopments.com and evaluated for its potential long-term success in a pilot study.

Wind erosion potential of a winter wheat-summer fallow rotation after land application of biosolids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pi, Huawei; Sharratt, Brenton; Schillinger, William F.; Bary, Andrew I.; Cogger, Craig G.

2018-06-01

Conservation tillage is a viable management strategy to control soil wind erosion, but other strategies such as land application of biosolids that enhance soil quality may also reduce wind erosion. No studies have determined the effects of biosolids on wind erosion. Wind erosion potential of a silt loam was assessed using a portable wind tunnel after applying synthetic and biosolids fertilizer to traditional (disk) and conservation (undercutter) tillage practices during the summer fallow phase of a winter wheat-summer fallow (WW-SF) rotation in 2015 and 2016 in east-central Washington. Soil loss ranged from 12 to 61% lower for undercutter than disk tillage, possibly due to retention of more biomass on the soil surface of the undercutter versus disk tillage treatment. In contrast, soil loss was similar to or lower for biosolids as compared with synthetic fertilizer treatment. Our results suggest that biosolids applications to agricultural lands will have minimal impact on wind erosion.

Conservation Tillage Impacts on Soil Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hake, K.

2012-04-01

As recent as the 1970's in University lecture halls cotton production was vilified for being "hard on the soil". This stigma is still perpetuated today in the popular press, deserving a close scrutiny of its origin and its reality as soil quality is an essential but unappreciated component of cotton's unique tolerance to heat and drought. The objective of expanding food, feed and fiber production to meet the global demand, during forecast climate disruption requires that scientists improve both the above and below ground components of agriculture. The latter has been termed the "final frontier" for its inaccessibility and complexity. The shift to conservation tillage in the U.S.A. over the previous three decades has been dramatic in multiple crops. Cotton and its major rotation crops (corn, soybean, and wheat) can be grown for multiple years without tillage using herbicides instead to control weeds. Although pesticide resistant insects and weeds (especially to Bt proteins and glyphosate) are a threat to Integrated Pest Management and conservation tillage that need vigilance and proactive management, the role of modern production tools in meeting agricultural objectives to feed and clothe the world is huge. The impact of these tools on soil quality will be reviewed. In addition ongoing research efforts to create production practices to further improve soil quality and meet the growing challenges of heat and drought will be reviewed.

Relating management practices and nutrient export in agricultural watersheds of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sprague, Lori A.; Gronberg, Jo Ann M.

2012-01-01

Relations between riverine export (load) of total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) from 133 large agricultural watersheds in the United States and factors affecting nutrient transport were evaluated using empirical regression models. After controlling for anthropogenic inputs and other landscape factors affecting nutrient transport-such as runoff, precipitation, slope, number of reservoirs, irrigated area, and area with subsurface tile drains-the relations between export and the area in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) (N) and conservation tillage (P) were positive. Additional interaction terms indicated that the relations between export and the area in conservation tillage (N) and the CRP (P) progressed from being clearly positive when soil erodibility was low or moderate, to being close to zero when soil erodibility was higher, to possibly being slightly negative only at the 90th to 95th percentile of soil erodibility values. Possible explanations for the increase in nutrient export with increased area in management practices include greater transport of soluble nutrients from areas in conservation tillage; lagged response of stream quality to implementation of management practices because of nitrogen transport in groundwater, time for vegetative cover to mature, and/or prior accumulation of P in soils; or limitations in the management practice and stream monitoring data sets. If lags are occurring, current nutrient export from agricultural watersheds may still be reflecting the influence of agricultural land-use practices that were in place before the implementation of these management practices.

The Use of Commercial Remote Sensing Systems in Predicting Helicopter Brownout Conditions

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

REFERENCES Anthoni, J. F. (2000). Soil Erosion and Conservation – Part 2. Retrieved 15 August 2009, from http://www.seafriends.org.nz/ enviro / soil ... soils susceptible to helicopter brownout. Helicopter brownout occurs when downwash disturbs the dust and sand beneath the aircraft during takeoff...destruction, as well as personnel injury or death. The likelihood of helicopter brownout is related to soil moisture content, particle size distribution, and

A regionally-adapted implementation of conservation agriculture delivers rapid improvements to soil properties associated with crop yield stability.

PubMed

Williams, Alwyn; Jordan, Nicholas R; Smith, Richard G; Hunter, Mitchell C; Kammerer, Melanie; Kane, Daniel A; Koide, Roger T; Davis, Adam S

2018-05-31

Climate models predict increasing weather variability, with negative consequences for crop production. Conservation agriculture (CA) may enhance climate resilience by generating certain soil improvements. However, the rate at which these improvements accrue is unclear, and some evidence suggests CA can lower yields relative to conventional systems unless all three CA elements are implemented: reduced tillage, sustained soil cover, and crop rotational diversity. These cost-benefit issues are important considerations for potential adopters of CA. Given that CA can be implemented across a wide variety of regions and cropping systems, more detailed and mechanistic understanding is required on whether and how regionally-adapted CA can improve soil properties while minimizing potential negative crop yield impacts. Across four US states, we assessed short-term impacts of regionally-adapted CA systems on soil properties and explored linkages with maize and soybean yield stability. Structural equation modeling revealed increases in soil organic matter generated by cover cropping increased soil cation exchange capacity, which improved soybean yield stability. Cover cropping also enhanced maize minimum yield potential. Our results demonstrate individual CA elements can deliver rapid improvements in soil properties associated with crop yield stability, suggesting that regionally-adapted CA may play an important role in developing high-yielding, climate-resilient agricultural systems.

Eight years of Conservation Agriculture-based cropping systems research in Eastern Africa to conserve soil and water and mitigate effects of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araya, Tesfay; Nyssen, Jan; Govaerts, Bram; Lanckriet, Sil; Baudron, Frédéric; Deckers, Jozef; Cornelis, Wim

2014-05-01

In Ethiopia, repeated plowing, complete removal of crop residues at harvest, aftermath grazing of crop fields and occurrence of repeated droughts have reduced the biomass return to the soil and aggravated cropland degradation. Conservation Agriculture (CA)-based resource conserving cropping systems may reduce runoff and soil erosion, and improve soil quality, thereby increasing crop productivity. Thus, a long-term tillage experiment has been carried out (2005 to 2012) on a Vertisol to quantify - among others - changes in runoff and soil loss for two local tillage practices, modified to integrate CA principles in semi-arid northern Ethiopia. The experimental layout was a randomized complete block design with three replications on permanent plots of 5 m by 19 m. The tillage treatments were (i) derdero+ (DER+) with a furrow and permanent raised bed planting system, ploughed only once at planting by refreshing the furrow from 2005 to 2012 and 30% standing crop residue retention, (ii) terwah+ (TER+) with furrows made at 1.5 m interval, plowed once at planting, 30% standing crop residue retention and fresh broad beds, and (iii) conventional tillage (CT) with a minimum of three plain tillage operations and complete removal of crop residues. All the plowing and reshaping of the furrows was done using the local ard plough mahresha and wheat, teff, barley and grass pea were grown. Glyphosate was sprayed starting from the third year onwards (2007) at 2 l ha-1 before planting to control pre-emergent weeds in CA plots. Runoff and soil loss were measured daily. Soil water content was monitored every 6 days. Significantly different (p<0.05) runoff coefficients averaged over 8 years were 14, 20 and 27% for DER+, TER+ and CT, respectively. Mean soil losses were 4 t ha-1 y-1 in DER+, 13 in TER+ and 18 in CT. Soil water storage during the growing season was constantly higher in CA-based systems compared with CT. A period of at least three years of cropping was required before improvements in crop yield became significant. Further, modeling of the sediment budgets shows that total soil loss due to sheet and rill erosion in cropland, when CA would be practiced at large scale in a 180 ha catchment, would reduce to 581 t y-1, instead of 1109 t y-1 under the current farmer practice. Using NASA/GISS Model II precipitation projections of IPCC scenario A1FI, CA is estimated to reduce soil loss and runoff and mitigate the effect of increased rainfall due to climate change. For smallholder farmers in semi-arid agro-ecosystems, CA-based systems constitute a field rainwater and soil conservation improvement strategy that enhances crop and economic productivity and reduces siltation of reservoirs, especially under changing climate. The reduction in draught power requirement would enable a reduction in oxen density and crop residue demand for livestock feed, which would encourage smallholder farmers to increase biomass return to the soil. Adoption of CA-based systems in the study area requires further work to improve smallholder farmers' awareness on benefits, to guarantee high standards during implementation and to design appropriate weed management strategies.

From soil in art towards Soil Art

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feller, C.; Landa, E. R.; Toland, A.; Wessolek, G.

2015-02-01

The range of art forms and genres dealing with soil is wide and diverse, spanning many centuries and artistic traditions, from prehistoric painting and ceramics to early Renaissance works in Western literature, poetry, paintings, and sculpture, to recent developments in cinema, architecture and contemporary art. Case studies focused on painting, installation, and cinema are presented with the view of encouraging further exploration of art about, in, with, or featuring soil or soil conservation issues, created by artists, and occasionally scientists, educators or collaborative efforts thereof.

75 FR 46903 - Notice of Proposed Changes to the National Handbook of Conservation Practices for the Natural...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-04

... Treatment (Code 521D), Pond Sealing or Lining--Soil Dispersant Treatment (Code 521B), Salinity and Sodic Soil Management (Code 610), Stream Habitat Improvement and Management (Code 395), Vertical Drain (Code... the criteria section; an expansion of the considerations section to include fish and wildlife and soil...

Spatial and Temporal Soil Moisture Behavior in a Headwater Watershed of the Mantiqueira Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The characterization of temporal and spatial variability of soil moisture is highly relevant in watersheds for understanding the many hydrological and erosion processes, to better model the processes and apply them to conservation planning. The goal of this study was to map soil moisture of the surf...

Evaluation of polyacrylamide on irrigation efficiency, soil conservation, and water quality in furrow irrigated Mid-South cotton production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Arkansas is a leading state in irrigated acres in the United States. As such, resulting groundwater decline and irrigation-induced soil erosion can have negative impacts. This establishes a need for irrigation management practices to improve irrigation efficiency as well as reduce soil erosion and i...

Modeling climate change effects on runoff and soil erosion in southeastern Arizona rangelands and implications for mitigation with rangeland conservation practices

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Climate change is expected to impact runoff and soil erosion on rangelands in the southwestern United States. This study was done to evaluate the potential impacts of precipitation changes on soil erosion and surface runoff in southeastern Arizona using seven GCM models with three emission scenarios...

A guide for the use of digital elevation model data for making soil surveys

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klingebiel, A.A.; Horvath, Emil H.; Reybold, William U.; Moore, D.G.; Fosnight, E.A.; Loveland, Thomas R.

1988-01-01

The intent of this publication is twofold: (1) to serve as a user guide for soil scientists and others interested in learning about the value and use of digital elevation model (DEM) data in making soil surveys and (2) to provide documentation of the Soil Landscape Analysis Project (SLAP). This publication provides a step-by-step guide on how digital slope-class maps are adjusted to topographic maps and orthophotoquads to obtain accurate slope-class maps, and how these derivative maps can be used as a base for soil survey premaps. In addition, guidance is given on the use of aspect-class maps and other resource data in making pre-maps. The value and use of tabular summaries are discussed. Examples of the use of DEM products by the authors and by selected field soil scientists are also given. Additional information on SLAP procedures may be obtained from USDA, Soil Conservation Service, Soil Survey Division, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013, and from references (Horvath and others, 1987; Horvath and others, 1983; Klingebiel and others, 1987; and Young, 1987) listed in this publication. The slope and aspect products and the procedures for using these products have evolved during 5 years of cooperative research with the USDA, Soil Conservation Service and Forest Service, and the USDI, Bureau of Land Management.

Estimating phosphorus availability for microbial growth in an emerging landscape

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, S.K.; Cleveland, C.C.; Nemergut, D.R.; Reed, S.C.; King, A.J.; Sowell, P.

2011-01-01

Estimating phosphorus (P) availability is difficult—particularly in infertile soils such as those exposed after glacial recession—because standard P extraction methods may not mimic biological acquisition pathways. We developed an approach, based on microbial CO2 production kinetics and conserved carbon:phosphorus (C:P) ratios, to estimate the amount of P available for microbial growth in soils and compared this method to traditional, operationally-defined indicators of P availability. Along a primary succession gradient in the High Andes of Perú, P additions stimulated the growth-related (logistic) kinetics of glutamate mineralization in soils that had been deglaciated from 0 to 5 years suggesting that microbial growth was limited by soil P availability. We then used a logistic model to estimate the amount of C incorporated into biomass in P-limited soils, allowing us to estimate total microbial P uptake based on a conservative C:P ratio of 28:1 (mass:mass). Using this approach, we estimated that there was < 1 μg/g of microbial-available P in recently de-glaciated soils in both years of this study. These estimates fell well below estimates of available soil P obtained using traditional extraction procedures. Our results give both theoretical and practical insights into the kinetics of C and P utilization in young soils, as well as show changes in microbial P availability during early stages of soil development.

Enzyme activities by indicator of quality in organic soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raigon Jiménez, Mo; Fita, Ana Delores; Rodriguez Burruezo, Adrián

2016-04-01

The analytical determination of biochemical parameters, as soil enzyme activities and those related to the microbial biomass is growing importance by biological indicator in soil science studies. The metabolic activity in soil is responsible of important processes such as mineralization and humification of organic matter. These biological reactions will affect other key processes involved with elements like carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus , and all transformations related in soil microbial biomass. The determination of biochemical parameters is useful in studies carried out on organic soil where microbial processes that are key to their conservation can be analyzed through parameters of the metabolic activity of these soils. The main objective of this work is to apply analytical methodologies of enzyme activities in soil collections of different physicochemical characteristics. There have been selective sampling of natural soils, organic farming soils, conventional farming soils and urban soils. The soils have been properly identified conserved at 4 ° C until analysis. The enzyme activities determinations have been: catalase, urease, cellulase, dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase, which bring together a representative group of biological transformations that occur in the soil environment. The results indicate that for natural and agronomic soil collections, the values of the enzymatic activities are within the ranges established for forestry and agricultural soils. Organic soils are generally higher level of enzymatic, regardless activity of the enzyme involved. Soil near an urban area, levels of activities have been significantly reduced. The vegetation cover applied to organic soils, results in greater enzymatic activity. So the quality of these soils, defined as the ability to maintain their biological productivity is increased with the use of cover crops, whether or spontaneous species. The practice of cover based on legumes could be used as an ideal choice for the recovery of degraded soils, because these soils have the highest levels of enzymatic activities.

7 CFR 632.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... programs of soil and water conservation with which the Secretary of Agriculture cooperates under the Soil..., structures, or other improvements. Land user. Any person, partnership, firm, company, corporation... sediment damage, elimination of public safety or health hazards, improvement of water quality, improved...

Soil respiration characteristics in different land uses and response of soil organic carbon to biochar addition in high-latitude agricultural area.

PubMed

Ouyang, Wei; Geng, Xiaojun; Huang, Wejia; Hao, Fanghua; Zhao, Jinbo

2016-02-01

The farmland tillage practices changed the soil chemical properties, which also impacted the soil respiration (R s ) process and the soil carbon conservation. Originally, the farmland in northeast China had high soil carbon content, which was decreased in the recent decades due to the tillage practices. To better understand the R s dynamics in different land use types and its relationship with soil carbon loss, soil samples at two layers (0-15 and 15-30 cm) were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total carbon (TC), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), soil particle size distribution, as well as the R s rate. The R s rate of the paddy land was 0.22 (at 0-15 cm) and 3.01 (at 15-30 cm) times of the upland. The average concentrations of OC and clay content in cultivated areas were much lower than in non-cultivated areas. The partial least squares analysis suggested that the TC and TN were significantly related to the R s process in cultivated soils. The upland soil was further used to test soil CO2 emission response at different biochar addition levels during 70-days incubation. The measurement in the limited incubation period demonstrated that the addition of biochar improved the soil C content because it had high concentration of pyrogenic C, which was resistant to mineralization. The analysis showed that biochar addition can promote soil OC by mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. The biochar addition achieved the best performance for the soil carbon conservation in high-latitude agricultural area due to the originally high carbon content.