Tugas :

TOPIC-LAND, SOIL, WATER, & VEGETATION

CONSERVATION

Nama: IB Dhana Jayawardana

NIM: 2081211007

Program Pascasarjana Universitas Udayana

A. Land, Water & Vegetation Conservation

Land is among the most important natural resources. It covers only about thirty per cent of the
total area of the earth’s surface and all parts of this small percentage are not habitable. The
uneven distribution of population in different parts of theworld is mainly due to varied
characteristics of land and climate. Plains and river valleys offer suitable land for agriculture.
Hence, these are densely populated areas of the world.

Figure.1

1. Land Use
Land is used for different purposes such as agriculture, forestry, mining, building houses, roads
and setting up of industries. This is termed as Land Use. The use of land is determined by
physical factors such as topography, soil, climate, minerals and availability of water. Land can
also be divided on the basis of private land and community land. Private land is owned by
individuals.Community land is owned by the community for common useslike collection of
fodder, fruits, nuts, or medicinal herbs. Thesecommunity lands are also called common
property resources.
 Table 1.

Land degradation, land slides, soil erosion, desertification are the major threats to the environment
due to the expansion of agriculture and constructional activities. Growing population and their
ever growing demand has led to a large scale destruction of forest cover and arable land and has
created a fear of losing this natural resource. Therefore, the present rate of degradation of land
resources must be checked. Afforestation, land reclamation, regulated use of chemical pesticides
and fertilizers and checks on over grazing are some of the common methods used to conserve land.

Figure 2.
Landslides:- Landslides are simply defined as the mass movement of rock, debris or earth down
a slope. They often take place in conjunction with earthquakes, floods and volcanoes. A prolonged
spell of rainfall can cause heavy landslide that can block the flow of river for quite some time. The
formation of river blocks can cause havoc to the settlements downstream on its bursting.

Figure 3.

2. Soil

Soil:- The thin layer of grainy substance covering the surface of the earth is called soil. It is
closely linked to land. Landforms determine the type of soil.Soil is made up of organic
matterminerals and weatheredrocks found on the earth. This happens through the process
ofweathering. The right mix of minerals and organic matter makethe soil fertile.

Figure 4.
 Soil erosion depletion are the major threats to soil as a resource. Factors which lead to soil
degradation are deforestation, overgrazing, overuse of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, rain
wash, landslides and floods.

Figure 5.

These cost results from the effects of erosion both on and off site.

On site effects particularly important on agriculture land, where:

1. redistribution of soil within a field

2. the loss of soil from a field

3. the breakdown of soil structure

4. the decline in organic matter

5. decline in nutrient

B. Mechanism of erosion processes and some factors influencing it

 Soil erosion consisting of 2 phase process:
 detachment process
 transport process
  The energy available for erosion take two forms:
 potential
 kinetic
 Potential energy (PE), where:
 PE = mhg
 PE = potential energy
 m = mass of product
 h = height difference
 g = acceleration due to gravity
in units: kg, m, ms -2
Kinetic energy (KE)
KE = ½ m v²
which in unit of kg, ms¯¹ gives a value in Joules

 The forms of soil erosion are:

Figure 6.
1. sheet erosion
2. rill erosion
3. gully erosion
4. riverbank erosion
5. land slide
6. soil creep
7. piping erosion
8. pedestal erosion
9. pinnacle erosion

 In general term, erosion are the results of interaction function of climate, topography,
vegetation and human factors on soil.
E= f (C, T, V, H, S)
In which:
E = soil erosion
f = function
c = climate
T = topography (slope)
H = human
S = soil
It is recognized that the function is not linear, but exponentially.

C. Methods For Soil & Water Conservation

The aim of soil conservation is to reduce erosion to a level at which the maximum sustainable level
of agriculture production, grazing or recreational activity can be obtained from an area of land
without unacceptable environmental damage.

 Soil & water conservation could be directed to:

- cultivated land
- non-cultivated land

 Some methods of soil conservation are:

 Mulching:- The bare ground between plants is covered with a layer of
organic matter like straw. It helps to retain soil moisture.
 Contour barriers:- Stones, grass, soil are used to build barriers along contours.
Trenches are made in front of the barriers to collect water.
  Rock dam:- Rocks are piled up to slow down the flow of water. This prevents gullies
and further soil loss.
 Terrace farming:- These are made on the steep slopes so that flat surfaces are
available to grow crops. They can reduce surface run-off and soil erosion.
 Intercropping:- Different crops are grown in alternate rows and are sown at
different times to protect the soil from rain wash.
 Contour ploughing:- Ploughing parallel to the contours of a hill slope to form a
natural barrier for water to flow down the slope.
 Shelter belts:- In the coastal and dry regions, rows of trees are planted to check the
wind movement to protect soil cover.

Figure 7.

D. Agroforestry For Soil Conservation

Is a collective name for land-use systems in which woody perennials (tree, shrub, etc) are grown
in association with herbaceous plants (crops, pastures) &/or live stock in a spatial arrangement, a
rotation or both, & in which there are both ecological & economic interactions between the tree &
non-tree components of the system.

 The main components of agroforestry system are:

 tree
 shrubs
 crops
 pastures
 livestock
 Together with

environmental factors of climate

 soils
 landforms

Figure 8.
 E. Watershed Management

Watershed is region which consisted of river and it creek with the main function to catch water &
storage it and then to flow it to the lake or direct to the sea as a natural flow (stream flow).
This region is boundering by topography in main land & estuary in the sea.

 Watershed could be devided into two parts:

- the upper part or upper stream flow
- the lower part or lower stream flow

 The upper stream flow is the main land which is characteristic by:
 undulating to mountainous topography
 the density of drainage pattern is high
 as a main source of water which will drain to the main river
 erodible land which will produce the sediment
 The down stream area of watershed is a region which characterized by a flat topography
which is mainly as a form of sediment or alluvial soil.

 The main function of a watershed is for:

 protection
 production
 conservation

 The main problems of watershed are:

 increasing the environmental damage & natural disaster (flood & drought)
 degradation of upper part of watershed as a protected area or chatchment area.
 Type Of Watershed Management :

a. Water Conservation Structure

b. Watershed Development

Figure 9.