Sustainable Terraces: Farming And Soil Erosion

Name Instructor Course Date Sustainable Terraces Introduction The ideal farmland is flat, with good soils and water, and terracing farming is a practice of utilizing farmland areas on the hilly or mountainous regions making it easier to grow crops. Creating terraces is one of farmers’ main responses to problems of hillside cultivation and erosion, while decrease in soil fertility and landslides are other problems likely to arise when there is neglect of sustainable terracing. At the same time, sustainable farming practices that target retaining and improving the importance of trees in water retention, are more likely to support reforestation and understand the impact of deforestation on water scarcity. Some trees require more water, but they may preserve less humidity. Knowledge on how landscapes the choice of farming methods, challenges to the farming approach, and crop productive systems affect sustainable terracing influence farming practices to reduce soil erosion, soil degradation and improve crop productivity. Terraces and farming Different types of terraces have been used to support the watershed management for solid and water conservation on hilly and slopes. Bench terraces, one of the oldest types of terraces is common in areas where there is limited supply of agricultural land and there is high population pressure (Farooq and Siddique 63). The bench terraces are built to improve level retaining walls and the hillsides then have a stepped look and are normally near the valley floors (Pйrez Rodrнguez 20). Regardless of the type of terraces created, terracing allows more intensive cropping since there is reduced runoff, and maintaining water infiltration into the soil and bulk density, which would otherwise be less likely to occur without these terraces (Farooq and Siddique 63). The technology used in terrace farming is closely intertwined with the cultural ecology in places like Asia and South America, and knowledge on traditional terracing can provide insights on how to integrate the farming practice in modern farming. Valuable information has been accumulated over time related to the different types of terraces and their application to ecological existing conditions (Powell 5). Since one of the main aims of terraces is soil conservation, the terraces are used for different crops where some unmodified slopes are suitable for cultivation and there are opportunities to improve the farming landscape. Sustainable terraces can improve the crop yields and productivity, but even the local farming communities ought to be involved in sustainable practices to support resource management. Knowledge generated by practicing sustainable farming contributes towards farming managements aimed at agricultural sustainability. Additionally, the local topography and soil types should be taken into consideration when implementing the sustainable terrace farming practice. For instance, when there are moderate and steep slopes the individual terraces are different, clay soils do not absorb water easily, barriers ought to be close to each other. On the other hand, if the soil is sandy or has a lot of organic matter, it will absorb watereasily and there are is greater distance of the barriers. In areas where there is knowledge about rainfed t...