Practical tips to avoid soil erosion

Avoid or carefully plan and implement land-use changes (i.e. grassland-to-cropland conversion).

Maintain a cover of growing plants or other organic and non-organic residues to protect the soil surface.

Implement appropriate measures such as mulching, minimum tillage, no-till by direct seeding with attention to reduced herbicide use, cover crops, agro-ecological approaches, controlled vehicle traffic, continuous plant cover and crop rotation, strip cropping, agroforestry, shelter belts, and appropriate stocking rates and grazing intensities.

Minimize erosion by water by measures that reduce runoff rates and velocity such as strip cropping, contour planting, crop rotation, intercropping, agroforestry, cross slope barriers (e.g. grass strips, contour bunds and stone lines), terrace construction and maintenance, and grassed waterways or vegetated buffer strips.

Use / install riparian buffers, buffer strips, wetlands, water harvesting and cover crops to minimize export of soil particles and associated nutrients and contaminants from the soil system and protect the downstream areas from damaging impacts.

Minimize erosion by wind through vegetative (trees and shrubs) or artificial (stone walls) wind breaks.

SOURCE: Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management