how can soil be conserved?
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wow.. tdhat is a BIG subject and I have studied soil conservation for many years and to put that answer down into a few words is DIFFICULT... just as difficult as conserving soil.\n\nCaring for our soil resources is becoming increasingly critical as the supply of dependable agricultural land decreases from competition by other uses, such as urban development. Healthy soils are key to producing good harvests of crops, and minimizes expenses such as fertilizer and pest control. If we let agricultural soils become degraded, there will be no new soil to take its place\n\nHere are just a few things to be considered:\n\nMinimize or eliminate summer fallow \nSeed directly into the previous year's stubble without pre-seeding tillage. No-till increases soil organic matter, enhances water infiltration, conserves moisture and reduces runoff and soil erosion due to wind, water and tillage. \nReduce tillage: replace one or more tillage operations with herbicide application to control weeds. Reduced tillage over successive years improves the physical and chemical properties of the soil, and at the same time helps restore organic matter – plant roots, microorganisms, insects and earthworms – which, when left undisturbed, work to stimulate and sustain plant growth. \nExtend crop rotations, particularly with the inclusion of legumes. The benefits include improved fertility, tilth, aggregate stability, moisture storage, and resistance to soil erosion and degradation, as well as reductions in insect, weed and disease problems. All of these factors contribute to increased productivity. \nAdopt permanent conservation practices such as grassed waterways, perennial grass barriers, and strip cropping. \nManage manure not as a waste, but as an important source of organic matter and plant nutrients. Organic matter, and the organisms that eat it, can improve water holding capacity, nutrient availability, and can help protect against erosion. However, applying manure in the fall or over-application can lead to water and air pollution. \nManage irrigation effectively, by reducing water losses from spray drift and over-application. \nCarefully manage fertilizer by applying according to the crops needs, during the time that the crop needs it and close to the root system so it can be utilized efficiently. Although fertilizer can increase the amount of organic matter in the soil, mis-management can also pollute air and water. \nManage pesticides carefully, by following label instructions. Try to minimize pesticide use by using an integrated approach, which incorporates other pest control practices such as a varied crop rotation and biological control options. \nMaintain healthy grass cover on pastures to prevent soil erosion, by using practices such as rotational grazing and rest periods. \nKeep crop residues on soil surface as much as possible. Crop residues include roots, chaff, stems and leaves which are left after a crop is harvested. These residues improve several soil properties, such as organic matter replenishment, water infiltration, water storage and particle aggregation. Crop residues also contain nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and micronutrients. \nSeed forages to increase soil organic matter, reduce erosion and salinity, and recover nutrients that leached below the rooting depth of annual crops. Selection of forage species and management practices can be tailored to specific problems such as drought, excessive soil moisture, salinity, poor soil structure, low pH and other problems. \nProvide adequate wind barriers, such as shelterbelts, to reduce wind erosion. Shelterbelts have the added benefit of increasing crop yields by trapping more snow, particularly of less drought-tolerant crops such as canola and alfalfa. \nPlant cover crops late in summer to protect soil against late fall and early spring erosion. Cover crops store nutrients for the crops that follow them, keep weeds down, host beneficial insects a
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there is a whole science that adresses exactly what you mention\nWATER HARVESTING\n,dig small dams every where to cath the rain water, and you can archieve that all of the rain water is absorbed by the land ,it will seep slowly into the ground to add to subteranean water suplies ,make sure that all the dams are interconnected by slow gradient ditches .just because you dont see water ,does not mean that it is not there .\nNormally a land repels water and with the rains it runs over ground into the rivers and awy.\nthink now that you want to make the land receptive or absorbent of all the water that falls on it.\n\nMULCH\ncut down the weeds before they produce seeds and leave them where they fall,they will cover the ground and put even more organic matter on top,you can use saw dust,leaves green or dry,and when you plant make a little space and plant in the mulch.this is the easiest quickest and by far most benificial way(for the quality of you soul)to prepare the land for planting\n\nto prevent weeds from coming all you have to do it turn out the lights,you can even use cardboard or black plastic(this is good for strawberries because they will rot if they touch humid ground,and the bugs can get to them).\n\nwhat you do is to cover the ground with mulch which is the same principal as compost but it includes the whole garden surface\nthe top part of the soil where the topsoil is being produced houses a world or microbiotic life.\n\nMulch is organic material green or dry that covers the ground,the thicker the better the composting process will turn it in to black topsoil\n\nthe humidity is preserved underneath and promotes the devellopment of worms(their exists no better compost than their excrements)and a variety of micro biotic life which together with the mulch produce more topsoil.\n\nthe mulch also keeps the ground temperature even and guards against the impact of the rain ,which would other wise brings salt to the surfave if on unprotected land\n\nMulch also prevents the soil from drying out because of the sun and, lay it open to wind erosian.\n\nand it turn out the lights for any weeds that want to come up\ndo not use chemicals because the water will wash them into the ground and if enough people did that, you would be guilty of helping to contaminate subteranean water suplies that other people could be pumping up to drink \n\nSUSTAINABLE FARMING\nthe best examples on this Earth of sustainable agriculture,\nare the chinampas of central Mexico ,the surviving ones(that have not been consumed by urban devellopment)have been going for more than 800 years ,that is sustainability.\nthe are built from the mud of the lakes and enriched with compost ,in the old days with the toilet contents of the outhouses that were on the bridges going into town,which the indians collected with a canoo.\n\nAnother example are the traced gardens of the Inca which have been going for more than a thousand years,there success is also because of the principle of using compost and their form which id a receptive concave absorb the rain waters and collect the dust from the wind (for hundreds of years and so increase in quality instead of the oposite.\nin the Ukraine are also examples of ancient agriculture due to no till farming and mulching(green organic matter that is added)\n\nin Mexico today are still examples from old Indian agricultural practises of diversity or companion planting.\nwhere by a series of 7 or 8 species of plants are put together or one folows the other.to create biodiversity ,and utilisation of space.\nCorn is planted for example ,wich is followed 4 weeks later by a bean that climbs it.\nand agavi and edible cactus is on the sides to protect these plants from foraging animals and add chemicals to the soil by their secretions.and others are in between to provide groundcover\n\nthere are many forms of sustainable farming in the past,and today those who follow the principles of permaculture,no till farming,organic or sustainable farmin
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We were given the work of caretaker of the earth.\nThe Earth Will Be Saved. In spite of the environmental gloom hanging over the earth, we would like to think that it will survive. After all, it is our home—and hopefully the home of our children and their children.  The truth is that while most people are concerned about the environment, many think nothing of throwing trash on the ground, dumping garbage in a river, or leaving lights turned on when they are not being used.  Such acts may seem like small things, but if each of the billions of individuals on earth were careful about how he treated the earth, it could make a difference.  Such things as being conservative in the use of energy, cooperating with recycling programs, and disposing of trash properly make a contribution toward preserving the environment.  By our habits we can demonstrate our care for the earth now.\n\nA comment by Thilo Bode of the Greenpeace organization, as quoted in Time magazine, touches on the core of the environmental problem:  “Our principal aim has been that corporations should consider how their products are disposed of.  They must think in terms of a trilogy: production, use and disposal.”  Sadly, we are able to make goods, we know how to use them, but we do not dispose of them properly. In some cases humans simply do not know how to do so safely.\n\nHowever, there is a greater solution.  Humans are limited, but earth’s Creator is not. He has already demonstrated his excelling wisdom in the creations we see on the earth. He knows how to make, to use, and to dispose of things properly.  Many of the systems he has made are automatic.  A seed germinates, and a plant grows and produces fruit.  It then dies—with all of its elements breaking down in nonpolluting fashion, ready to be reused.  This is recycling at its best!  There is no toxic pollution!\n\nThe Creator does not intend to let the earth deteriorate into an uninhabitable trash dump. In the Bible, at Isaiah 45:18, we read:  “This is what Jehovah has said, . . . He the true God, the Former of the earth and the Maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited.”  The Bible explains that man was originally put in a paradise. In fact, God purposed that this Paradise reach the ends of the earth and be filled with people. (Genesis 1:28.)  However, rebellion broke out.  The first man and woman did not want to continue subject to God’s rule.  \n\nNevertheless, God has not turned a blind eye to earth’s ruination. He will act before it is too late, before the earth becomes an uninhabitable wasteland. How do we know that?  Revelation 11:18 explains: “The nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time . . . to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”  \n\nGod’s original purpose for the earth, that it be a paradise, will still be fulfilled.  God issued statements showing this.  For example, he said:  “My word that goes forth from my mouth . . . will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted.”  (Isaiah 55:11)  You may enjoy reading Isaiah chapter 35, where God describes the transformation of ruined lands into gardenlike parks and fruitful fields.\n\nEven now, when pollution is stopped, the earth has shown a remarkable capacity to renew itself.  God created it to do so. If the overloading of the earth with pollutants is discontinued, a wide variety of microorganisms in water and soil can heal much of the damage.  Additionally, there is reason to believe that when God steps in and directs things, this rejuvenation process will be even more effective. He can provide the training and perfect direction that humans now lack.\n\nHence, the earth’s future is not hopeless.  Plants and animals will be saved.  Endangered species lists will be gone.  Our air and water will be fresh again.  Obedient humans will be there to enjoy it
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It depends on a lot of things. Among them, you should consider the amount of erosion, presence of water, wind, all those weathering factors that could impact the rate at which dirt (I'm guessing) accumulates.
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Try this website; it has several links:\nhttp://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=Methods+of+soil+testing&gwp=11&ver=1.0.2.84&method=2
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Heat seems to be very effective.  I read an article that says you can sterilize a large area of ground by covering it with clear plastic and leaving it there for one to three months.  It also says you can sterilize dirt in either a regular or microwave oven.  Just heat the dirt to about 200 degrees F.\n\nThere are some very radical chemical methods for treating soil.  These include chloroform, chloroform-ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, methyl bromide, mercuric chloride and sodium or potassium azide.  These might work but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_life
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let me try:\n1)Save Plants to save Life.\n2)Protect plants and animals and protect yourself.
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water is a natural resource and we use it foe almost everything, soil is anouther natural resource and u should know wat we use it for, things like that r natural resources
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A few things that contribute to soil erosion:\nPoor agricultural practices;\nPoor forestry practices;\noff-roading with any kind of vehicles, including bikes;\ndiversion of natural water supplies;\npoor design of infrastructure (buildings, roads, etc)
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Conservation is using renewable resources so that the resources will be renewed.  In other words, don't take out more than nature can replenish in a given amount of time.
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On Earth, soil is generally considered to be weathered material capable of supporting plant life.[2] Soil forms through a variety of soil formation processes, and includes weathered rock "parent material" combined with dead and living organic matter and air. Soils are vital to all life on Earth because they support the growth of plants, which supply food and oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide and nitrogen.\n\nIntroduction\nBecause of it's position in the landscape and its dynamic physical, chemical, and biologic functions, soil is among our most important natural resources. Indeed, engineers, agronomists, chemists, geologists, geographers, biologists, microbiologists, sylviculturists, sanitarians, archaeologists, and specialists in regional planning, all depend on, and contribute to, knowledge of soils. While the general concept of soil is well established, the definition of soil varies, hinging on the perspective of the discipline or occupation employing it as a resource.\n\nSoil occupies the pedosphere, one of Earth's spheres that the geosciences use to conceptually organise the Earth. This is the conceptual perspective of pedology and edaphology, the two main branches of soil science. Both branches apply a combination of soil physics, soil chemistry, and soil biology. Due to the numerous interactions between the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere that are hosted within the pedosphere, more integrated, less soil-centric concepts are also valuable. Many concepts essential to understanding soil come from individuals not identifiable strictly as soil scientists. This highlights the interdisciplinary nature of soil concepts.\n\nThe understanding of soil is incomplete. Despite the duration of mankind's dependence on and curiosity about soil, exploring the diversity and dynamic of this opaque resource continues to reward. New and refreshing avenues of soil research are compelled by our need to understand soil in the context of climate change [3], greenhouse gases [4] [5], and carbon sequestration. [6]\n\nVasily V. Dokuchaev, a Russian geographer, is credited with identifying soil as a resource whose distinctness and complexity deserved to be separated conceptually from geology and crop production and treated as a whole.\n\nPreviously, soil had been considered a product of physicochemical transformations of rocks, a dead substrate from which plants derive nutritious mineral elements. Soil and bedrock were in fact equated. Dokuchaev considers the soil as a natural body having its own genesis and its own history of development, a body with complex and multiform processes taking place within it. The soil is considered as different from bedrock. The latter becomes soil under the influence of a series of soil-formation factors (climate, vegetation, country, relief and age). According to him, soil should be called the "daily" or outward horizons of rocks regardless of the type; they are changed naturally by the common effect of water, air and various kinds of living and dead organisms. [7] \n\nWhat is soil?\nSoil classification\nMain article: soil classification \nSoil classification is a contentious subject, from the structure of the classification system itself, to the definitions of classes and types, and finally in the application in the field. Every classification system starts with its own individual definition of soil. The essential problem is that soils do not reproduce or have DNA like living organisms, so no "objective" criteria can be used to choose among classifications. The most qualified specialists in the world can and do spend hours during a field trip at each soil profile, arguing about the classification. Yet, in a well-constructed system, the different names refer to similar concepts, so that interpretations do not vary widely.\n\nThe Unified Soil Classification System (or USCS) is used in engineering, geology and soil science disciplines to describe the texture, grain size,
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Some soil is lost with the harvesting of the sod.  This is replaced when necessary.
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You want all of them?\nLetting fields lie fallow.\nUsing muck spreading\nUsing organic fertilizer\nUsing inter cropping (Japan)\nUsing organic methods like spraying with organic pesticides\nSoil improvement using sea weed harvested from the sea\nToo many of them - everything from soil improvement to using tractors and combines and planting trees to stop the wind affecting crops.
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You usually use hydroponics, i.e. you add salts of different essential macr and micro nutrients like iron oxide and potassium nitrate and add some EDTA to stop precipitation. But if yours is a low level experiment, try different types of soil --clay, sand and loam, and add in different amounts of water, maintain in diff. temp. and lighting.
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the barriers prevent constuction wastes from leaching into neighboring soils
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You are really confusing me. Conserve what?!