SOIL CONSERVATION METHOD

CROP ROTATION

• Change the types of crops to keep soil fertile
• Plants crops that use fewer soil nutrients
• Different crops in a field each year

CONTOUR PLOWING

• Farmer plow their fields along the curves of a slope
• This helps slow the runoff of excess rainfall

BUFFER STRIPS

• Conservation buffers are small areas or strips of land in permanent vegetation
• Buffer strips contribute to the mosaic and connectivity of habitats in the wider landscape
• Conservation buffers protect soil, improve air and water quality and beautify the landscape.

CONSERVATION PLOWING

• Farmers disturb the soil and its plant cover an little as possible
• This method is also called low-till or no-till plowing
• Dead weeds are left in the ground to help return soil nutrients