Repairing and preventing soil erosion - Soil Essentials: Managing Your Farm's Primary Asset - page 121

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Repairing and preventing soil erosion
Control options available
Ground cover
A relatively simple technique for preventing soil erosion by water and wind is to
maintain a good vegetative ground cover. Dense pasture cover is ideal, but any
vegetation that intercepts raindrops and dissipates their energy before they hit the
soil is suitable. Vegetation also helps catch and hold any soil particles that are being
moved by water runoff or wind. Re-establishing vegetative cover on areas where
erosion has begun will help the area stabilise and heal the soil scarring, allowing
topsoil to reform and increase the ability of the area to support healthy plant
populations.
Cultivating or ripping the affected area on the contour to loosen the soil and
hold water where it falls, which helps it soak into the soil and not run off the area
taking soil with it, sowing it to a heavy rate of crop or pasture, and providing
plenty of nutrients for the plants' needs will help to repair the area as soon as
possible. It may also be advantageous to plant windbreaks to help protect the area
from strong prevailing winds.
Water management works
On sloping ground, controlling water f low by building contour banks at regular
intervals down the slope will help rainfall to soak into the soil and limit the
distance down the slope that water can run without being intercepted.