Browsing by Author "Tanguilig, Herminia C."

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    Soil and water conservation:
    (2005-08) Tanguilig, Herminia C.
    The hilly land areas in the Philippines are conducive to severe erosion. To prevent land degradation and the impoverished living condition of the hilly land farmers to continue to worsen, acceptable cropping system alternatives with built-in soil conservation and rehabilitation measures should be adopted. Soil and water conservation studies conducted ranged from monitoring soil erosion and surface run-off under areas with different vegetation cover and determining the effects of different vegetation covers on soil erosion and surface runoff; to finding approaches for soil moisture retention to improve the micro-environment. To better advance the knowledge and practice of soil and water conservation in the Philippines, several studies have been conducted by various agencies and institutions. Aware that there are several efforts done in the past, the researcher explored the results of researches conducted over the last two decades for an updated knowledge in soil and water conservation. These research results were compared and analyzed to come up with a synthesis of a number of related studies. Several researchers who studied the effects of different vegetative cover on runoff and soil loss found out that sweet potato was the most effective vegetative cover in controlling soil loss and runoff. This is because of the crop's ability to produce greater herbage density in a shorter time compared to other species, like corn. On the other hand, leguminous tree species can be planted in strip with sweet potato. The accumulated top soil ranged from 0.60 cm to 2.00 cm. These trees minimize soil movement by acting as soil traps and as a source of organic fertilizer. The integration of furrow contour farming, hedgerows, and other farming practices with appropriate farming systems in agroforestry schemes could check soil erosion and improve the productivity of the land. Accordingly, alley and multiple-storey cropping systems which are soil conservation-oriented agroforestry systems appropriate for farming hilly areas have become acceptable to hilly land farmers in some parts of the Philippines. Erosion rates on steep slopes can be brought down to a tolerable level when alley cropping system is practiced with soil conservation practices such as contouring, mulch, minimum tillage, and waterways.