7-3 Soil Conservation

Soil Conservation

Chapter 7 Section 3

The Value of Soil • Soil is one of Earth’s most valuable resources because everything that lives on land depends directly or indirectly on soil • Soil is a renewable resource because soil develops wherever weathering occurs • Renewable resource- one that is naturally replaced in a relatively short time • Soil is valuable because there is a

Soil Damage and Loss • Soil is damaged as it loses its fertility • Soil can be lost to erosion by water and wind • Water erosion can occur whenever soil is not protected by plant cover

• The Dust Bowl- an area where wind erosion caused severe loss of topsoil during the 1930’s • Plowing removed the grass from the Great Plains and exposed the soil. In times of drought, the topsoil quickly dried out, turned

The Dust Bowl

Soil Conservation • Soil conservation- the management of soil to prevent its destruction • Contour plowing- the practice of plowing fields along the curves of a slope • Conservation plowing- disturbs the soil and its plant cover as little as possible • Low-till or no-till plowing: Dead weeds and stalks o the previous year’s crop are left on the ground to help return nutrients, return moisture, and hold soil in place

Review • Explain the importance of soil as one of Earth’s resources 

Everything that lives on land depends directly or indirectly on soil. Soil takes a long time to form; there is a limited supply

• How did settlers on the Great Plains help create the Dust Bowl?

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The settlers’ plowing removed the grass from the Great Plains and exposed the soil. They also allowed livestock to overgraze during dry periods.

• What are some techniques that farmers use to conserve soil?

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Contour plowing- the practice of plowing fields along the curves of a slope Conservation plowing- a practice that disturbs the soil and its plant cover as little as possible