The soil erosion was measured through the needle erosion and the sediment in the runoff.
And no-till farming equates to fewer emissions, less soil erosion and less chemical runoff.
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Soil erosion is particularly bad in the Himalayan foothills where most north Indian rivers rise.
Increased soil erosion and sedimentation rates can also jeopardize the array of ecosystem ser-vices provided by the watersheds.
Soil erosion in the catchment areas leads to the silting of river beds, which soon offsets the protective value of embankments.
And other factors driving global change, like radiation, soil erosion, changing soil conditions and demographic pressures, are also very noticeable in mountain regions.
In particular, massive use of nitrogenous fertilisers which draw multiple crops from Punjab's rather poor soil has reduced the soil's overall fertility and led to widespread soil erosion.
Critics of this kind of farming point to its limited social benefits, and to its ecological costs, which include soil erosion and the heavy use of chemicals.
Meanwhile, the arable land that we do currently have is becoming more damaged, with soil erosion now causing 40 percent of land degradation worldwide, the FAO says.
Water pollution, soil erosion, deforestation and desertification in the north, where rivers are drying up, have contributed to an estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949.
The Ehrlichs are correct that some trends deserve worry: soil erosion, degradation of tropical forests, fish depletion, the loss of farmland, to mention some of the most serious.
One interesting pilot scheme being tried out in Minnesota allows farmers who reduce fertiliser run-off and soil erosion to enjoy an exemption from future state and federal water-quality standards.
Jam Nizamuddin Tomb is one of those structures that are located at the edge of the ridge, have developed cracks due to settlement caused by soil erosion and lack of protective embankment.
Land used to grow biopharmed corn, for example, would have to lie fallow for the following season, a requirement that would promote soil erosion and whose expense would discourage many farmers from biopharming.
Many farmers using these seeds have even been able to implement a "no-till" system, which offers tremendous environmental benefits by preventing soil erosion, keeping farm water and chemical run-off out of local watersheds and releasing less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Those very herbicide-resistant plants, now grown on more than 220 million acres annually worldwide, have spurred the adoption of more environment-friendly herbicides and agricultural practices--changes that have markedly reduced soil erosion, the runoff of agricultural chemicals and carbon dioxide emissions, and increased yields.
This document presents the design and evaluation of a rain simulator to study soil losses and runoff generation in erosion plots located in hilly bared soil.
Another aim of the scheme will be to tackle landslides, with the new trees helping to bind the soil together to prevent erosion.
The sediment of runoff was between 103 and 308 kg ha-1 h-1, while the soil losses by needle erosion were between 6, 3 and 61, 0 ton ha-1.
In terms of "ecosystem services" the provision of clean water, the absorption of carbon, the creation of soil, the prevention of erosion Hawaiian forests dominated by alien tree species can perform better than the pristine habitats they replace.
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Soil degradation could be worsened by increased erosion caused by higher rainfall, while elsewhere more land could become desert.
While it helps the environment by preventing erosion, no-till farming keeps fertilizer in the upper soil.
"All this heavy machinery and vehicles caused a lot of soil compaction, changed the landscape, and allowed more sand to move and caused a lot of erosion, " she said.
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