Soil Conservation – Geography

Soil Conservation is a broad discipline that employs various practices to prevent the unsustainable use and deterioration of the soil’s resources. In its broader sense, Soil Conservation represents a sustainable management approach to ensure profitable agriculture as well as environmental protection.

Soil erosion is essentially aggravated by faulty practices. The first step in any rational solution is to check open cultivable lands on slopes from farming.

Lands with a slope gradient of 15 – 25 per cent should not be used for cultivation. If at all the land is to be used for agriculture, terraces should carefully be made.

Over-grazing and shifting cultivation in many parts of India have affected the natural cover of land and given rise to extensive erosion. It should be regulated and controlled by educating villagers about the consequences.

The primary threats to soil conservation are climate change and traditional farming practices, according to the United Nations. Traditional farming practices include the overuse of harmful pesticides that contaminate soils, slash-and-burn methods, and land overuse. Soil conservation aims to mitigate these threats.