Soil conservation methods - wind erosion, water erosion or both?

Terracing - A series of retaining walls is built on a slope, with the soil piled up and flattened behind each one.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Contour ploughing - Ploughing takes place across a slope, rather than up and down it.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Crop rotation - A different crop is grown on a plot of land each year for three or four years, before the first crop is grown again.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Fallow periods - A piece of land is 'rested' every few years.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Strip cultivation and inter-cropping - Different crops are grown in narrow bands in a single field. The crops are harvested at different times, so the field is never left completely bare.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Cover cropping - a fast-growing crop is planted after the main crop has been harvested. Sometimes this is a 'green manure' crop, which is then ploughed back into the soil to add nutrients.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Reducing stock density - By having fewer livestock, a piece of land does not become overgrazed.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Check dams - Where gully erosion has occurred, small walls are built across the gullies.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Filling gullies - Gullies are filled with rocks and other materials as soon as they form to prevent them from becoming larger.

• wind erosion

• water erosion

Afforestation - Planting trees.

• wind erosion

• water erosion