Soil Conservation is the name given to a handful of techniques aimed at preserving the soil. If soil erosion and exhaustion are caused by humans; by corollary, they can also be prevented by humans. Nature has its own laws of maintaining balance. Nature offers enough opportunities for humans to develop their economy without disturbing the ecological balance. Soil conservation is a methodology to maintain soil fertility, prevent soil erosion and exhaustion, and improve the degraded condition of the soil. Soil Conservation is the practice of protecting the soil against erosion or deterioration.
Soil erosion is essentially aggravated by faulty practices. It removes the topsoil that is necessary for organic matter, nutrients, micro-organisms that are required for plants to grow and shine. 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 percent 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. Contour bunding, Contour terracing, regulated forestry, controlled grazing, cover cropping, mixed farming and crop rotation are some of the remedial measures which are often adopted to reduce soil erosion. This is why soil conservation is especially significant. It is the procedure or actions we can do or concern to our use of soils and lands to ensure their persistent health and quality.
