Soil Erosion and Conservation of Moisture in Un-Irrigated Black Soils

Abstract

Soil Erosion is a subject that is receiving world-wide attention today. Although erosion has been going on for centuries, it is recognised that it has begun to assume sericus proportions in recent years. America may be said to be the foremost country in the collection and dissemination of knowledge concerning this problem. Through a chain of experimental stations which deal exclusively with the problem of soil erosion in all its varied aspects, a large mass of data is collected and the results made avail- able to the farmers through a series of scientific articles, pamphlets and other publications; wide publicity is given to such results. Farmers are encouraged to form soil conservation districts, which on co-operative lines practise the various control measures advocated by the officers of the Soil Conservation Service, under their expert guidance and advice. The Soil Conservation Service deals comprehensively with the problem of erosion from the agricultural, forestry, engineering and other points of view. The quantity of soil washed down the great river systems of America annually is computed in millions of tons of soil. Some of the erosion surveys of the United States as a whole showed that 35 millions of acres have already been destroyed; out of the 350 millions of acres under cultivation, 125 millions have lost most of their surface soil and 100 millions are eroding seriously. It is stated that at the present rate of soil and water depletion the fertile soil in America will be reduced in another 50 years to a fourth of what it is now. These are some of the results of the erosion surveys of the United States.