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SOIL EROSION AND CONSERVATION

Soil destruction is the result of man’s activities in search for food in order to sustain life. These
activities are geared towards development of soil resources for food production in order to meet the
consumption needs of the growing population. Hence, soil conservation is needed in order to maintain
sustainability of our land resources.

Importance of Soil Conservation

Soil conservation is the foundation of mankind and civilization. From the soil we get everything,
directly or indirectly.

Soil is the medium that makes rain, heat and light work together to allow plants to grow. To
protect our main source of food, the only sensible thing to do is to protect the productive land that we now
have. The care of soil is the prerequisite to survival.

Basically, the economic stability of both city and rural populations depends on how farmers use
and care for their land. Economic stability develops from good soil use, intelligently protected from soil
erosion and wastage of rainfall by excessive runoff.

Wise land use means using the land within its capability and according to the needs so as to keep
it permanently productive. In order to do this, farmers need technical assistance of the soil
conservationist. They also need the support and encouragement of the public.

We need to get better acquainted with the land, its needs, and the practical possibilities of taking
care of these needs. If we are courageous in accepting new ideas and willing to work with instead of
against the nature and the land, we shall find in conservation farming an avenue to the best system of
agriculture the world has ever known. What is needed now is the desire and decision to go ahead and get
the job finished on time. This will require the help of everybody. More and more works will be required,
as well as more cooperation, better coordination and ample technical help. The closest possible
cooperation between technicians and farmers and other agencies dealing with the different aspects of
conservation works.

Soil conservation farming pays. Evidence of this fact is conclusive. Economic studies made by
the soil conservation service in cooperation with many agricultural colleges and universities show that
farmers who practice soil conservation make more money than farmers in similar land who do not
practice soil conservation.

The person with the greatest concern for the soil is the farmer. His standard of living depends
upon its productivity. Future farmers, who expect to make their living on the farm, must gain information
on how to use the land resources efficiently. Good land is reflected in prosperous looking farmstead,
healthy livestock and good crops.

Soil conservation is the wise use of the land, especially with respect to erosion control.
Conservation farming is permanent agriculture. It is the proper use of every hectare; it is good, sound
agriculture with a view to the future. It is a maintenance, and sometimes restoration of soil productivity.

Soil Erosion Problems

Soil erosion is the detachment and movement of soil or rock by water, wind, ice or gravity.

Extent of soil erosion in the Philippines

The land area of the Philippines is 30 million hectares in which 14 million are under cultivation.
In 1946, Mamisao of the bureau of soils said that 9 M hectares or ¾ of the cultivated and open lands are
subjected to varying degree of erosion. He emphasized the following provinces in which the percentage of
its total land area is subjected to erosion:

Batangas - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 83%

Cebu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 76%

Ilocos Province- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 74%

In 1978, Miranda [PCCARD] REPORTED 11M hectares of the eroded land, ¾ of which are
badly eroded.
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In 1984, soil erosion has been identified by the National Environmental Protection Council
[NEPC] as the most serious environmental problem. David [UPLB] estimated that more than ½ of the
Philippine land area has been badly eroded and proved to severe soil erosion.

Estimates of David [1984] for the following ecological area using mathematical model:

Primary Forest - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 tons/ha/year

Secondary Forest - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12 tons/ha/year

Open Grassland - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 85 tons/ha/year

Kaingin Areas - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -100 tons/ha/year

Pasture, slightly grazed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 48 tons/ha/year

Overgrazed Grassland - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 250 tons/ha/year

Mechanic of soil erosion

The most active agent of the soil erosion process in the Philippines and other areas in the humid
tropics is water. The role of water in the process is detachment and transportation.

Water in the form of precipitation or rainfall and surface flow are responsible in bringing about soil
detachment and transportation.

Soil materials can not be moved or transported by water unless they are dispersed or detached.

Soil are dispersed and detached mainly by falling raindrops. Surface flow can also initiate dispersion or
detachment. Soils are moved or transported mainly surface flow. The falling raindrops can transport or
move soil particles, but only to a short distance.

The mechanics of soil erosion involve three processes:

a. Detachment/dispersion of soil particles

b. Transport of suspended soil particles
c. Disposition of particles.

Types of Soil Erosion

There are two main types of soil erosion. They are as follows:

1. Geologic erosion. It is the process of smoothing down the hills and mountains, counteracting
the great upheavals of the earth’s crust. Geologic erosion occurs as leaching, surface erosion,
landslides, creep and oxidation.
2. Accelerated erosion. It is the removal of the topsoil either by the action of water or by wind
faster than the rate of soil formation. There are two forms of accelerated erosion [water]:
a. Sheet erosion. This is the most widespread and probably the most damaging
form of soil erosion. There is a uniform removal of thin layer or “sheet” from a given
area of land. Normally, the soil is detached by the impact of raindrops, not by
flowing water. After this process has been repeated many times, much of the surface
soil is gone and the farmer grows his crops in the subsoil.
b. Channel erosion. In contrast to sheet erosion, channel erosion occurs where surface
water has concentrated, so that a large mass of water supplies the energy both for
detaching and transporting the soil. Channel erosion exists as rill erosion, gully
erosion, and stream erosion.

i.] Rill erosion—is incipient gully erosion. It usually the result of water washing
down between rows of cultivated crops that is planted up and down the hill or in
implement marks and other slights and irregularities of the soil surface. If rill
erosion continues only for a short while, tillage operations may smooth out the
surface completely, so that the resulting soil profile is identical to the one that is
damaged by sheet erosion.

ii.] Gully erosion-- is channel erosion that washes so deep into the subsoil that the
can not easily be smoothed out by ordinary tillage tools. Gully erosion is sometimes
known as advance of rill erosion.

Iii] Stream erosion – is the carrying off of the soil material on the sides and on the
bed of a permanent or intermittent stream.
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Factors Affecting Soil Erosion

It can be said that without water, wind and soil, there will be no erosion. These are the
essential elements.

The factors Affecting soil erosion are:

1. Climate
a. Rainfall intensity
b. Rainfall erosivity

The amount, intensity and duration of rainfall have the profound effect on the amount
and rate of the resultant runoff.

Downpours of high intensity and comparatively short duration invariably cause

maximum runoff of lands subject to erosion.

There is obviously an association between the amount of rainfall and the amount of soil
erosion, i. e. , more rain goes with more erosion and less rain goes with less erosion, but in
statistical terms the correlation between the two is poor. The same total quantity of rain can be on
different occasions result in widely differing amounts of erosion, and so other more specific
measure are required to described the ability of rainfall to cause erosion.

2. Vegetation

The role of plant life in the soil and water conservation is one of transcending importance
and is manifested in at least nine different aspects:

a. Direct dispersion, interceptions and evaporation of falling raindrops by the foliage of

trees, grasses and shrub.
b. Transpiration through the body tissues and leaves of vast quantities of moisture from
the subsoil back to the air.
c. Protective shield afforded by close-growing grasses and cover crops against the direct
impact of rainfall.
d. Knitting and binding effect of the root system in surface layer of soil.
e. Penetration of the roots through the soil profile, which upon decay leaves numerous
tubular cavities to promote infiltration.
f. Improvement of soil structure by addition of organic matter, increases absorption and
keeps the soil in condition to support vigorous growth.
g. Increased surface friction reduces volume of runoff and reduces velocity of
remainder.
h. Surface friction tends to keep water spread out laterally and thus delay the rate of
concentration in tributary drainage ways.
i. Entrance of air is facilitated by adding humus to the soil and the more favorable
environment is created for the activity of beneficial bacteria.
3. Soil conditions
a. Slope [degree and length]

Slope affects runoff by imparting velocity in accordance with well-known law of

falling bodies as modified by environmental conditions. It is apparent that the
steeper the slope, other things being equal, the less time there will be for
absorption and the faster the runoff will flow. Soil losses increase gradually to a
4% slope, then increase rapidly to between 7and 8 percent, beyond which the
rate of increase is still more rapid. Both the size and shape of the water shade
area affect the amount of runoff at a given point and on hillsides, the length of
the slope is more important than the width.

Land slopes can not directly changed but can be modified on their effect
on runoff by the use traverse channels of terraces.

b. Soil Erodibility

Soil Erodibility indicates the soil’s inherent susceptibility to erosion

which is influenced by infiltration capacity and structural stability of the soil.

4. Management [land use]

Soil erosion is an accelerated process that commences the moment man

cultivates the soil. Because of the removal of the protective cover, the processes
of detachment and transportation of the soil body proceeds more rapidly than soil
formation.
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The destructive and harmful nature of soil erosion process came about
because of the activities of man directed towards the acquisition of material
goods not only for the things that are essential for life but also for the things that
are non-essential.

Farm practices contributing to soil erosion:

a. Kaingin system of farming

b. Monoculture system
c. Overgrazing
d. Plowing along the slope of the land
e. Burning
f. Logging
g. Other practices such as; road construction, area development for
housing and resettlement

Methods of soil erosion control

To sustain the productivity of the agricultural lands, effective soil conservation must be instituted.

Effective soil conservation range from law capital, simple methods to complicated engineering
procedures requiring huge amount of investments. Methods such as bench terracing and construction of
concrete check dams are for the multinational farms and may not be realistic for small farmers.

The guiding principle in conservation farming is the effective prevention and control of soil
erosion and adequate conservation of rainfall in the field, on a farm or ranch, over a watershed, or on any
other unit or parcel of land. It requires the use and treatment of all the various kinds of land. It requires
the use and treatment of all the various kinds of land comprising that area in accordance with the
individual needs and adaptability of each different area having any important extent.

The real objective of conservation farming is to have the farmer make a credible living for
himself and his family, and at the same time his land in such a way to assure continued economical
production.

Universal soil loss equation (USLE)

The universal soil loss equation (USLE) is widely used to predict the severity of erosion from
farm fields. It is universal because the six factors are sufficient to describe the process. It is given as:

A= RKLSCP

Where = A is the long-term average annual soil loss for a location

R is the long term average rainfall-run-off erosivity factor
K is a soil erodibility index
L is a slope length factor
S is a slope angle factor
C is a soil cover factor
P is an erosion control factor

Other processes leading to soil deterioration

1. Leaching Process. Leaching refers to the process by which soil nutrients are washed down
by water from the root zone of the plants. The extent of losses varies with the nutrients, soil
management and climate. Greatest loss usually occurs in well-drained and coarse textured
soils.

Leaching can be minimized through 1 timely addition or organic matter and 2 proper
timing and placement of fertilizers.

Attempts to minimize nutrient losses through leaching process were made by maintaining
vegetative cover. Plants also consume large amount of water. Their roots serve as channels
for the percolating water hence the percolating water hence the percolating water is not
passing through the soil mass. Weeds also help minimize the loss of nutrients through
leaching. Weeds utilize the nutrients not utilized by plants. When decomposed, they return
the nutrients to the soil.

2. Nutrient removal through Cropping. Plants utilize amount of nutrients from the soil for their
growth. The plants at maturity are harvested and sold. Thus the organic matter and the
minerals that composed the harvested part will make the soil poor. This is the reason why
when we do not fertilize our crops, production will decrease year after year.
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3. Volatilization. One of the processes that contribute to the decline of the level of fertility is
volatilization process. This process brings about the loss of nitrogen from the soil. Nitrogen
in this process escapes from the soil in the form of ammonia. Volatilization is quite serious if
fertilizer salts containing ammonium nitrogen are placed on the surface of alkaline soil.

The ills of soil erosion

Erosion not only damages the site on which it occurs but also has detrimental effects off-site in
the larger environment.

On-site ills of soil erosion. This refers to the effects of erosion from the farm where it occurs.
These are:

a. Loss of soil
b. Loss of nutrients/loss of fertility
c. Loss of organic matter
d. Loss of seeds or seedlings
e. Loss of applied fertilizer
f. Decrease soil depth

Off-site ills of soil erosion. This refers to the adverse effects of soil erosion downstream where
soil sediments are deposited. This include the following.

a. Siltation of irrigation dams

b. Siltation of irrigation canals
c. Siltation of paddy fields
d. Siltation of hydro-electric power dams
e. Reduce life span of reservoirs
f. Destruction of crops and animals downstream
g. Destruction of infrastructure like bridges, roads and buildings

Control of soil erosion

The high amount of soil erosion on cultivated sloping uplands in the country implies the need for
implementation of soil conservation measures to attain sustainable agriculture in these lands. Strategies to
minimize soil erosion involve the use of conservation measures that can achieve one or a combination of
the following effects:

1.] dissipation of raindrop impact

2.] reduction of surface runoff velocities
3.] increase infiltration rates, and
4.] reduction of soil Erodibility by enhancing soil properties that resist erosive forces.

An effective method should be able to reduce soil loss at or below the allowable soil loss of 10
tons/ha/year on deep soils. On shallow soils i. e. <50 cm true soil, the allowable soil loss is 2
tons/ha/year.

Fertilization. Undoubtedly, this is the most effective method of maintain soil fertility or raising the
fertility level of the soil. The use of fertilizer promotes rapid vegetative growth of plants and
production of high fresh biomass, and high leaf area index. With high leaf area index, there is
high aerial cover thereby dissipating the impact of raindrops.

Maintenance of vegetation/ Vegetative Cover.

a. Cover Cropping. This is the practice of growing a temporary vegetative cover of fast growing
annuals to protect bare soil with its dense growth.

b. Fallowing. Using pasture legumes or just grass is also recommended when a sloping area is left
untilled to rejuvenate its natural fertility. The legume and grass covers serve to dissipate the
energy of raindrops thereby reducing the detachment of soil particles. It also serves as to
reduce the velocity of runoff reducing its scouring effect and entrainment of soil particles.

c. Mulching. This is the practice of spreading plant residues(leaves, stalks, stovers, straw and
roots) or other organic materials on the ground between crop rows or around the base of fruit
trees to cover the surface of the soil during rainy seasons.
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In situ mulching- The use of plant residues as mulch in which the plants were grown on
that particular soil.
Transported mulch- Mulch material was obtained from other areas. This method is
effective in dissipating rain drop impact, reduce entrainment and increase filtration.

d. Physical Barriers (Mechanical Methods). These methods include terracing, check dams,
rockwalling and contouring or contour furrows.

e. Vegetative Barriers(Biological Methods). These methods includes the following: 1) Alley

Cropping, 2) natural vegetative strips (NVS) and 3) Strip Cropping.

f. Multiple Cropping. This involves growing of several crop species on a piece of land in spatial
arrangement. In sloping lands where farmers grow mostly row crops, corn can be grown in
alternate strips with legume intercrops and grown sequentially. This scheme reduce the
impact of raindrops and transport of detached soil particles.

Multi-storey Cropping – involved growing of crops at different heights, and rooting

patterns, in the same field to optimizes the use of available
sunlight, structural support, wind protection, shade, moisture,
and nutrients.