Soil and its Conservation

 What is Soil?

• The thin layer of grainy substance covering the outer layer of the Earth is called soil 
• It is closely linked to the land.
• Soil is composed of natural matter, minerals, and endured rocks found on the Earth. This happens through the process of weathering. The right blend of minerals and natural matter makes the dirt fertile

Weathering: The separating and decay of uncovered rocks, by temperature changes, ice activity, plants, animals, and human action

Soil Degradation

Soil degradation is the process of decrease in the fertility of the soil. It is the process by which the soil loses its ability to reproduce in the future

Soil degradation occurs due to various human activities, which involve the misuse of soil

Degradation leads to poor quality and productivity of the soil

Factors responsible for Soil Degradation:

Physical Factors

Physical factors include the erosion of topsoil, which is caused by water or wind.

Chemical Factors

Chemical factors include the depletion of the soil nutrients due to the increase in acidity or alkalinity of the soil.

Biological Factors

Biological factors include the increase or decrease in the microbial activity in the soil.

Human Factors

Apart from the above-mentioned factors, a major reason for soil degradation is the human factor or human activities. These include deforestation, excessive use of pesticides, overgrazing, etc.

Methods for Soil Conservation: 

• Mulching: The uncovered ground between plants is covered with a layer of normal matter like straw. It helps with holding soil
• Contour barriers: Stones, grass, soil are utilized to assemble obstructions along with shapes. Channels are made before the boundaries to gather water
• Rock dam: Rocks are stacked up to dial back the progression of water. This forestalls chasms and further soil misfortune
• Terrace farming: Broad level advances or terraces are made on the lofty inclines so that level surfaces are accessible to develop crops. They lessen surface overflow and soil disintegration
• Intercropping: Different harvests are filled in substitute lines and are planted on various occasions to shield the dirt from downpour wash 
• Contour ploughing: Ploughing corresponding to the shapes of a sloping incline to frame a characteristic hindrance for water to stream down the slant
• Shelter belts: In the beachfront and dry areas, columns of trees are planted to provide shelter to crops and soil from cold and hot breeze to ensure soil cover. 

What are Landslides?

• Landslides are essentially characterized as the mass movement of rock, rubbish, or earth down an incline
• They are usually caused as a result of seismic tremors, floods, and volcanoes
• A drawn-out spell of precipitation can cause a weighty avalanche that can obstruct the progression of a waterway for a long while. The arrangement of waterway squares can destroy the settlements downstream on its exploding
• In the uneven landscape, avalanches have been a significant cataclysmic event that frequently strikes life and property and are a cause of great concern

Mitigation techniques for landslides

• Hazard mapping to locate areas prone to landslides so that such areas can be avoided for building settlements
• Development of a maintenance divider to prevent the land from slippage
• Expansion in the vegetation cover to capture avalanches
• The surface seepage control attempts to control the development of avalanches alongside water and spring streams.

Conclusion

A thin outer layer of the Earth’s surface is known as soil. Soil is composed of natural matter, minerals, rocks, and organic matter found on the earth’s surface by the process called weathering. Nature of parent rocks, climate, topography, organic matter, and time are some factors that play a major role in soil formation. At present, soil degradation is one of the major problems we are facing. Factors responsible for it are rain wash, landslides, floods, deforestation, overgrazing, overuse of chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. We can conserve the soil by practising mulching, contour bundling, Rock dam, terrace farming intercropping, contour ploughing, shelter belts.