Vegetative soil conservation is any form or activity or use of plants and plant debris to reduce erosion. The crowns of trees or other plants will hold / break punch and speed of rain. Thus the power at / limpas rainwater on the surface soil decreased. Canopy of trees in addition to reducing power at the rain water also absorbs some of the rain water through their leaves as an interception.
Most trees have branches that tend / skew / pointing upwards so it captures some of the rainwater to flow to follow the rod in the form of stem flow. Water flowing as stem this flow is passed down to the ground. Tree with spreading roots and plenty of surface soil like a banyan tree, it can be meresapk water into the soil in large quantities so often under the banyan tree there is a water source.
On a nice forest area rainwater many are impregnated into the ground and low speed so it will not cause adverse erosion. This will be very different from the non-forested areas so that the rainwater that falls will hit the ground directly. The blow / blow rain water will cause spark resulting spark erosion / spash erosion. Then the sparks rain continues collects and runs into the surface water runoff or erosion of the surface / sheet erosion. If the runoff is collected and will swell membentul stream that forms the trench so-called erosion trench.
Excess soil conservation vegetatively
- Maintaining the stability of the stricture soil through the root-soil granulation to enlarge
- Land cover by litter and canopy reduce evaporation
- Besides, it can increase the activity of microorganisms that lead to increased soil porosity, thus increasing the amount of infiltration and prevent erosion.
- Economic value so as to increase the income of farmers.
- Shortage of vegetative soil conservation
- Not all plants can be used to implement soil conservation vegetatively, thus indirectly inhibit plant growth.
Remaining Planting
One attempt to maintain the productivity of dry land, especially land is to maintain soil organic matter. Since the use of chemical fertilizers, largely forgotten the use of organic fertilizer or even most of the rest of the crop transported out or burned because they want to see the land kept clean. This situation is detrimental for the key to be able to maintain the productivity of the land is to maintain soil organic matter levels while preventing erosion.
The original source of the organic material is plant tissue. Leaves, twigs, branches, trunk and roots of plants in nature to provide organic matter annually. Such materials will decompose and become one with the soil called humus soil. The rest of the plant other than a major source of food for many species of microorganisms, as well as to maintain and improve soil productivity.
Soil organic matter will affect the physical and chemical properties of soil al
– Increase granulation soil so that it will improve the soil structure
– Improve the ability of soil to hold water
– Prevent soil compaction fast
– Increase the sorption capacity of the soil, because 30-90% of the adsorption power of a soil derived from soil organic matter, thereby increasing nutrient availability soil
– Organic materials are also a source of plant nutrients.
Some ways to maintain soil organic matter is through:
– Incorporation of green materials plant residues
– Spreading the crop residue as mulch on the soil surface.
The use of crop residue mulch sehagai provides several advantages:
– Protecting the soil from rain so that the soil does not blow Iekas compact.
– Slowing the flow rate so that the surface can reduce erosion and
– Material decaying mulch is a good medium for the improvement of soil biological activity
Cover crops
Crop legume cover crop is very good for the rehabilitation of degraded land because it serves (1) melindungimpermukaan soil from the effects of rain, so menghurangi erosion, (2) improve and mempertahankann physical and chemical properties of land, (3) reduce evaporation and loss of organic matter, and (4 ) controlling weeds.