overplowing
Farming soil too much
Overplowing is excessive or repeated plowing that damages soil structure, depletes nutrients, or causes erosion.
The practice contributed to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, when overplow farmland turned to dust and blew away.
Overplowing had stripped the prairie of its protective grass cover.
depletion
Loss of essential substances
- infertilityInability to reproduce
- overcultivationExhausting soil through excess
- mineral deficiencyInsufficient essential inorganic intake
- crop failureWhen fields yield nothing
compaction
Impenetrable subsurface stratum
- soil compactionCompression of ground particles
- poor drainageInadequate water removal
- heavy machineryLarge powered industrial apparatus
erosion
Channels carved by erosion
- runoffExcess water drainage
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- dust bowlErosion-ravaged drought zone
- siltationAccumulation of fine waterborne particles
nutrient depletion
Loss of essential substances
- infertilityInability to reproduce
- overcultivationExhausting soil through excess
- mineral deficiencyInsufficient essential inorganic intake
hardpan
Impenetrable subsurface stratum
- soil compactionCompression of ground particles
- poor drainageInadequate water removal
- heavy machineryLarge powered industrial apparatus
gullies
Channels carved by erosion
- runoffExcess water drainage
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- dust bowlErosion-ravaged drought zone
- farm problemssoil erosion, soil depletion, water pollution, fertilizer runoff, overgrazing
- soil degradationsoil erosion, soil depletion, nutrient depletion, desertification, salinization
soil conservation approach
overplowingcrop rotation
Alternating field plantings yearly
soil conservation · sustainable farming · permaculture · terracing · land restoration
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