Soil water is a basic growth requirement or resource for crop as it ensures turgidity of cells, nutrient dissolution into forms that can be taken up by plants etc. thus the need to ensure it is adequately conserved.
Soil water conservation is the management of soil water to ensure availability and absence of pollutants. It ensures that the uptake of water from an ecosystem does not exceed its natural replacement.
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Soil Water Conservation Practices in Organic Cropping Systems
Soil can better hold moisture for plants to thrive through adoption of good soil management practices such as fertilizing with manures, adding compost and reducing tillage frequency.
1. Crop rotation: rotating different crop types by season or year enhances soil moisture conservation as different crops need different amounts of water. Additionally, rotating crops with different rooting systems or zones enhances water uptake at different soil layers thus reduces exploitation of only one soil layer.
2. Cover crops: the more the soil is covered with vegetation, the better is the soil protection against water loss through evaporation.
3. Alley cropping: pruning of hedgerows e.g. Sesbania sp, Leucaena sp to serve as mulch materials cover the soil surface thus reducing soil moisture loss through evaporation.
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In conclusion, soil moisture conservation helps maintain soil water quality and availability as it ensures that the uptake of water from an ecosystem does not exceed its natural replacement.
Soil water conservation is the management of soil water to ensure availability and absence of pollutants. These can be achieved through the adoption of good cultural practices such as incorporation of manures, crop rotations, planting cover crops and alley cropping.
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