Agricultural Soil and Water Conservation Stewardship Sarah Ditmore

Key Topics 1.) Best ways to manage and conserve soil and water 2.) How are the tactics to manage said soil and water also interrelated to wildlife, forestry and aquatic systems? 3.) How is the balance between the quality of life versus the quality of the environment maintained? 4) Methods farmers can use to conserve stuff and the different categories that

I should probably be able to 1) Identify and recommend techniques for conserving stuff 2) Describe the role that the feds play in regulating stuff 3)Identify the concepts of soil quality/health to provide the needed functions for the conservation planning processes 4) Identify various types of soil erosion while utilizing different methods of to estimate soil erosion to assess land use impacts* 5)Explain why land-use planning is necessary for our ecosystems and the economy to achieve sustainable agriculture

SOIL EROSION *methods from 4 RUSLE equation Aerial Photographs Topographical Maps Soil Maps USDA Classification Symptoms Soil Survey SOIL EROSION These all have to do with SOIL EROSION

SOIL Erosion Inter-Rill Erosion: When rain splashes and water transports the soil over the surface Rill Erosion: erosion by concentrated flow in small rivulets Gully Erosion: Runoff that is scourging and deeper than one foot (so pretty intense ) Steambank Erosion: when a river/stream cuts into a bank

The RUSLE equation (revised universal soil loss equation) A = R x K x LS x C x P A = annual soil loss R = erosivity of rainfall K = erodibility of the soil (function of the soil/what it is made out of) LS = slope legnth/steepness C= cropping and management factors (crops grown, residue cover, surface roughness) P = erosion control practices(contour tilling + planting, strip-croppig, terracing, subsurface damage)

CONTROL THE EROSION Contour buffer strips: permanently vegetated strips located between larger crop strips on sloping land. Field borders: bands or strips of permanent vegetation at the edge of a field. Filter strips: strips or areas of permanent vegetation used to remove sediment, organic materials, nutrients, pesticides, and other contaminants from runoff. Riparian forest buffers: areas of trees and/or shrubs along streams, lakes, ponds, or wetlands. Vegetative barriers: narrow permanent strips of stiff-stemmed, tall, dense perennial vegetation established in parallel rows perpendicular to the dominant field slope. Grassed waterways: natural or constructed swales where water usually concentrates as it runs off a field. Streambank protection: structures such as fences and stable crossings to keep livestock out of the streams as well as streambank stabilization with rocks, grass, trees, shrubs, riprap, or gabions.

The Stewardship PA makes up 35% of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and its tributaries. Although great strides have been made, contaminated runoff from agriculture, urban and suburban areas, sewage treatment plants, septic systems and even air pollution contaminate PA’s water systems as well as the Bay. How rude.

Conservation Choices for Maryland Farmers Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan (SCWQP) helps farmers protect and enhance the natural resources that support an productive and profitable farming operations Many of these plans are put into place and they are modified to fit the specific farm/farmer