Biological control of erosion in arable lands | O Level Notes Agricultural 5038 скачать в хорошем качестве

Biological control of erosion in arable lands | O Level Notes Agricultural 5038

A number of biological methods are used to control erosion in arable lands. The most common methods are:  Intercropping. Some crops can be cover- crops, for example, groundnuts can be intercropped to maize  Early planting. Planting early can establish cover on the ground before heavier rains.  Practising crop rotation. Some crops have better rooting systems which help to improve soil structure, for example legumes are good cover crops.  Maintaining optimum plant populations. This assists in covering the whole ground.  Mulching. This involves leaving organic matter on the ground, thus covering the ground.  Applying enough fertilizer to ensure good crop cover and soil particle bondage.  Avoiding monoculture.  Ploughing across the stream.  Avoiding stream bank cultivation Causes of erosion on grazing lands Both, human and animal activities can cause erosion on grazing lands. The following actions can be listed:  Tracks caused by livestock.  Pulling sleighs/sledges.  Veld fires.  Overgrazing.  Heavy rains/floods. Biological control of erosion on grazing lands  Avoid overgrazing and overstocking.  Avoid veld fires. Avoid pulling sleighs Questions 1 a) List 4 human causes of erosion b) Explain the term soil conservation 2 a) How can a farmer control wind erosion? b) How does water erosion cause erosion on land? 3 a) Distinguish erosivity from erodibility. b) Identify four causes of erosion on arable lands and suggests possible solutions to the problems. Advantages of the biological control methods  They are cheap to implement.  They are easy to carry out since it is part of normal crop and animal practices.  They help contribute to the increase of plant populations and animal productivity.  They do not interfere with machinery operations.  Thy do not affect the size of arable land. Disadvantages of the biological control methods  Biological methods can fail to control very heavy storms particularly early in the season before there is adequate vegetative cover.  Use of grass mulching can bring weed seeds into lands.  High plant populations can result in yield reduction due to competition for nutrients, water, and light. #Biologicalcontrol #erosion #arablelands #agricultural #biological ‪@Notesreel‬