Section 5:Agronomic measures

What does row cropping need for better erosion control?

Strip croppping and roatation

What type of Agronomic is temporal?

Rotation

What type of agronomic is spatial?

Strip

Where are crops planted less frequently to let soil recover?

More erodible land especially in tropical slash and burn systems.

What are the best crops for rotation?

Grasses and legumes.

What are some typical cover crops?

Clovers, ryes, oats, and alfalfa

What makes a good cover crop?

Quick growth, weed suppressant, Nitrogen fixer, deep roots

What is strip cropping?

Strips of row and protectant crops grown on contour to help curb erosion

What should you do with strip cropping as slope and erosion risks goes up?

Decrease the spacing and pack more strips into a portion of land.

What is the width of grasses vs legumes strips?

Grasses are half as wide as legumes (4.5M vs 9M)

What type of soil porosity is best for strip cropping (infiltration)

Well drained soils perform better

What is the bad of strip cropping?

Requires precise machinery, less crop/ac, can make low infiltration areas worse

Field stripcropping

uniform strips/bands across

slope but don’t follow slope; too irregular topography

Wind Stripcropping

strips of crops at right angle

to prevailing wind; recommended for level or

nearly level fields

Buffer stripcropping:

strips of grass/legumes laid out

between strips of crops growing in regular rotation

Why is mulching effective?

It prevents raindrop splash and increases roughness

how much surface needs to be covered by mulch?

70-75%

give 3 syntheitc mulch types

Plastic film, geotextile, and netting/mesh multch

What is shifting cultivation?

Changing the location you farm so the area can recover without row crops

Why is shifting cultivation not done much?

You have to leave large swaths of land fallow for 7-20 years

What rises with cut forests?

Burn events and erosion from runoff

WHen does rangland have high erosion post burn?

first year. in year 3-4 it returns to normal

What does a high RC value indicate?

Less erosion due to greater mulch

What are the 7 controls in agroforestry?

Crop rotation

Strip cropping

mulching

shifting cultivation

forest management

grazing management

revegitation