LAND RESOURCES

Lokhesh
Mithuna
Maran
Mogan
Prasad
Mohamed
Abbas
Nandhakum
arE.V.S Project
B.Arch (1st
Nandhini
year)

Soil, a
limited
resource we
depend
upon, but
take for
granted

Soil Erosion
What causes soil erosion?
How serious of a problem is it?
Good news and bad news from the U.S.
What is desertification?
How do salts degrade the soil?

CAUSES OF SOIL
EROSION

Wind

Water #1
People

WHY
CARE
about
soil
erosion
?

Impacts of Soil Erosion

Loss of soil fertility
Sediment runoff causes

problems in surface water

(pollution, clog ditches,
boat channels, reservoirs)
#1 source of U.S. water
pollution
Renewable only on LONG
timeframes (200-1,000yrs.
for 1 inch)

Soil Erosion

On Ag. land in U.S. today, soil is eroding 16 times

faster than it is created

Global Soil Erosion

Areas of serious concern

Areas of some concern
Stable or nonvegetative areas
Fig. 14-7 p. 280

Causes of Desertification
Overgrazing
Deforestation
Erosion
Salinization
Soil Compaction
Natural Climate Change

World Desertification

Fig. 14-9 p. 282

Desertification:

causes and consequences.

Occurring on 1/3 of worlds land

SALINIZATION
1. Irrigation
water contains
small amounts
of dissolved
salts
2. Evaporation
and
transpiration
leave salts
behind
3. Salt builds up
on soil

Reducing and Cleaning Up

Salinization

Reduce irrigation
Switch to salt-tolerant

crops
Flush soils
Not growing crops for 2-5
years
Install underground

Soil Degradation on Irrigated

Land

Salinization
Salinization

Waterlogging
Waterlogging

1. Precipitation and
irrigation water
percolate
downward
2. Water table rises
3. Bad for roots

Evaporation

Transpiration

Evaporation

Waterlogging
Less permeable
clay layer

Fig.
Fig. 14-11
14-11 p.
p. 283
283

What controls soil

productivity?
Water -infiltration, drainage,

storage
Nutrients/toxins (12/17)
Gas Exchange -CO2 out, O2 in
Strength/rooting volume
Waste Disposal
Seed/seedling nursery

Where is the best soil?

Where are the productive soils?

We see what we know. The more we know,

the more options we realize we have w/
the worlds soils.

What are some threats?

Finite arable land: 1.1 billion hectares
1961 0.32 ha/p; today 0.15 ha/p; 2050 0.12 ha/p

Erosion today 12-40 Mg/ha 30% agricultural

lands irreversibly damaged.

Desertification e.g., 27% China affected w/
new 2500 km2/yr.
Salinization- affects 20% of worlds 250+
million hectares of irrigated lands.
Contamination w/ heavy metals.
Urbanization and other competing uses.
Problematic off-site issues & competing uses.

Threats? Think little things.

Compaction or loss of porosity.
Loss soil organic matter.
Loss CEC other buffering potential.

Doolittle Prairie
e.g., 10%
reduction in pore
volume
= 152 m3/ha
= 2200 ft3/ac
-less gas
exchange, water
storage, root
volume; poorer
nursery.
-water quality &
quantity, air
quality

Soil Conservation
What is soil conservation and how does it

work?
What are some methods for reducing soil
erosion?
Inorganic versus organic fertilizers

Soil Conservation
Involves many ways of reducing soil erosion and
restoring fertility to soil.

Conventional Tillage
Farmers plow the land and then break up and smoothes
soil to make a planting surface
Leaves soil vulnerable to erosion
Midwest tillage often down in fall (winter bare)

Conservation Tillage
Disturbing the soil as little as possible while planting crop
Not tilling over winter
Planting without disturbing soil
Special equipment inject soil with seed, fertilizer etc.
In 2003 45% of U.S. farms

Terracing
Used on
steep
slopes
Reduces
erosion
and
water
loss

Contour
planting
Planting
crops in
rows across
the slope
Strip
Cropping
Cover Crops: can be
planted right after harvest
to hold onto soil during
winter

Alternating
crops from
row crops
and crops
that

Alley Cropping: several cops planted together in

rows (alleys) Increases shade (less water)
Provide windbreaks

Windbreaks

SOIL RESTORATION
Organic fertilizer
Animal
manure
Compost
Crop rotation
Commercial inorganic fertilizer

Organic Fertilizer
Has decreased in the
U.S. due in part
because most
farmers no longer
raise livestock and
it costs too much to
transport
Poop Factory and
Phillies Soil
Inorganic fertilizers
have taken off

Inorganic Fertilizers

Nitrogen,
Phosphorous,
Potassium
Grown in usage
worldwide
Credited with
increasing crop
yields (1/4 of world
crops)
W/o could only feed
2-3 billion people
Many problems