Soil Conservation?

["hearts"H-town Cutie~]

What are solutions to Desertification.

[legsandgreeneyes78]

I have to agree with the permaculture answer. Look into it.

[Charlie Bucket]

Plant trees and plants to hold the soil in place and retain moisture.

[damiris007]

That is to broad of a question? Be more specific, I am a soil scientist and can help.

[byderule]

SOIL PRESERVATION AND DESERTIFICATION

the first concept to prevent desertification is always to conserve the trees and to maintain moisture ,which can be enhanced by waterharvesting ,

which simply means to catch and retain any rain fall that happens in that place by building as many dams as is possible, and so efectively turn the place into a sponge .

the water will not always be visible ,but all the same is absorbed by the ground ,and is now moving at a much slower speed ,sometimes taking months to leave the area before it ends up in subteranean water deposits or helps feed the streems and rivers , meantime your trees have been using it.

a tree builds its own soil ,in its life time,by the leaves it discards ,--we improve on that by mulching

MULCH
cut 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 your soil)to prepare the land for planting

to 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).


what you do is to cover the ground with mulch which is the same principal as compost but it includes the whole garden surface
the top part of the soil where the topsoil is being produced houses a world or microbiotic life.

Mulch is organic material green or dry that covers the ground,the thicker the better the composting process will turn it in to black topsoil
an exelent mulch is forgotten or old bales of whatever ,straw or hay or alphalfa

the 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.

the 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

Mulch also prevents the soil from drying out because of the sun and, lay it open to wind erosian.

do 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

PERMACULTURE
the designers Manual by Bill Mollisin has a large section on dryland strategies,which are many ideas that have been applied in the sahara and in Nevada. cost about 40 dollars.
and is the best all round book you can get.(tagiari publishing, [email protected])

Permaculture means permanent agriculture
a concept put forward by Bill Mollisson in the 60`s
which is a complete hand book for environmental design.
for those who seek an ambiotic relationship with our planet
With practical solutions for energy systems ,infratructure ,housing,
animal shelter ,water systems and sustainable agricultural practises.
With the world and it`s history as it`s source
From the chinampas of Mexico to the teraced gardens of the Andes.
From the dessert whadis to the steppes of Russia.
Covering all climatic conditions temporal, dessert, humid and dry tropics.
with chapters on soil ,Water harvesting and land design,
Earth working ,Spirals in nature,Trees and water ,utilising energy flows,
Strategy for an alternative nation ,this book also has many gardening tips,bio-gas,companion planting and ideas for structures ,how to cool down houses in hot climates ,how to warm up houses in cold climates with out using technology but rather by design.

always aiming at autosuficiency and sustainability .
Collectively portraying an ancient and natural philosiphy
With the Laws of Nature as its base
coupled to the present day level of scientific knowledge.
permaculture is extremly compact form of growing things.utilising all space and utilising all resource ,it is productive and economic.