What type of plowing prevents soil erosion

Sediment and nutrients removed by water erosion can kill fish and impact water quality, and blowing dust from wind erosion can cause safety hazards.

Wind erosion is most often a problem on flat land and in drier climates. Soil can also be carried away by rain or irrigation water. There are two basic types of water erosion:. With sheet erosion , usually caused by direct rainfall, soil materials are removed uniformly from the top layer. With rill erosion , often caused by poor surface drainage, little streamlets of water cause rills and eventually gullies to form. Tillage erosion occurs when tilling activity drags the soil downhill. This practice helps to prevent soil erosion in hilly and contoured areas by capturing the water runoff using water breaks to keep water contained.

Contour farming is done in hilly and sloped areas. Farmers who practice contour farming start by cutting levels into the hill or contoured area. This creates a series of steps on the hill on which crops are grown.

Small ridges or raised platforms known as water breaks are built along the rims of these individual steps in order to prevent the water from just running down the hill. These water breaks help to keep the water contained in individual step levels to allow for more time for this water to be absorbed by the ground on each of these levels.

In less steep areas, the land is simply plowed following the contours horizontally. Subscribe to the Safeopedia newsletter to stay on top of current industry trends and up-to-date know-how from subject matter authorities. Our comprehensive online resources are dedicated to safety professionals and decision makers like you. By: Daniel Clark. Strip cropping on different levels terracing held water and stopped soil from washing away in heavy rain.

Even today, you can see areas where farmers use contour plowing, terracing and strip cropping. First written and published in Contour Plowing by nggmalyadm Apr 1, Are field borders needed to replace end rows in the contouring system to control sheet and rill erosion? Tech Notes Establish a key line around the hill by using a hand level or contour gauge.

Contour key line grade should not exceed 2 percent, except within feet of an outlet. In that case, the grade can be a 3 percent slope.