Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

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! !! "#$%&!'())!! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*+!,-./!01#/2&! ! Figure 18: Potential Soil Erosion Due to Wind and Water in Boulder County 354 Wind Erosion: Soil ratings progress from 1 – the most susceptible to wind erosion, to 8 – the least susceptible to wind erosion. Water Erosion: Soil ratings progress from 0.02 – least susceptible to water erosion, to 0.69 – most susceptible to water erosion. Water erosion pertains to sheet and rill erosion "#$" !,342#.5#6/1!78$.%3/23$1! 9.21$#23$1!:1;.1
! !! "#$%&!'())!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*+!,-./!01#/2&! Agricultural systems in Boulder County are particularly prone to erosion because of frequent high winds. Areas in Boulder County where vegetation has been removed, for example annual cropland, overgrazed areas, and burn areas, are even more exposed and vulnerable to wind erosion than sheltered lands. 355 Certain farming practices, such as stubble mulch, reduced tillage, no-tillage, strip cropping, leaving a rough tilled soil surface, and treatment of exposed areas by re-seeding and planting can help to reduce the extent of both wind and water erosion on cropping and grazing systems. Tillage Methods There are two general types of tilling practices, conventional-till or intensive-till and conservation-till. Conventional-till plows all residues from the prior harvest into the soil, as opposed to conservation-till, which leaves at least 30 percent of the crop residue on the surface undisturbed. No-till leaves all crop residue and does not till at all before planting the following crop. 356 According to the Conservation Technology Information Center, in 2008, conservation tillage methods totaled 113,764,677 acres in the U.S., intensive-till totaled 101,339,774 acres, while all other tillage methods totaled only 58,983,025 acres. 357 Soil erosion is the main concern with the use of intensive tillage practices. To avoid erosion, farmers may employ conservation tillage, which is broadly defined as any tillage method that leaves sufficient crop residue in place to cover the soil surface. 358 The benefits of conservation tillage include: 359 - Reduced wind erosion - Improved soil moisture management - Increased carbon sequestration - Reduced water erosion - Increased options for multiple cropping - Improved soil structure - Weed suppression - Reduction of the volatilization of organic matter from tillage The benefits of higher carbon sequestration rates go beyond reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Higher levels of soil organic carbon (SOC) actually help bind the soil particles together causing the near surface soil to be more stable and less susceptible to water erosion. Raindrops can be more erosive than runoff or flowing water because they have a higher velocity, particularly in arid locations. High levels of SOC are important in areas where annual precipitation is low and evaporation is high, such as the Great Plains, to decrease erosion. A study conducted in the Great Plains region, including a site in Akron, Colorado, concluded that under no-till soil practices, the increase in SOC content was “partly responsible for the greater aggregate water repellency, stability, and resistance to raindrops.” 360 No-till is a type of conservation agriculture and is a growing trend according to the USDA. 361 No-till can be used on almost any crop. Beyond protecting soil from erosion, increasing water retention, 362 and decreasing energy use, no-till agriculture can also increase the soil’s ability to absorb carbon, decreasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 363 No-till practices can also decrease farmer’s fuel costs. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service estimates that a farmer can save 3.5 gallons of fuel per acre by changing from conventional-till methods to no-till. 364 ! "#$" !,342#.5#6/1!78$.%3/23$1! 9.21$#23$1!:1;.1
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SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE LITERATURE
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Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

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