Soil Conservation
Soil supports and sustains life. Rich with life, prairie soils of the Great Plains drew pioneers and farmers across North America in record numbers during the late 19th century and early 20th century. By the 1930s, the prairie soil, devastated by rudimentary farming practices and unyielding drought, was easily whipped up into great dust clouds prompting the beginning of an era known as the Dirty Thirties.
Today, modern farming practices that minimize soil disturbance, such as no-till farming, crop and grazing rotation and land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) greatly reduce impacts to soil.
Soil stores and cycles carbon, nutrients and nitrogen; degrades pollutants; and, drives decomposition. These activities are performed by the diversity of living organisms that live in the soil. Arthropods, bacteria, earthworms, fungi, nematodes and protozoa make up some of the diversity found in the soil. A single scoop of rich garden soil contains more species of organisms than can be found above ground in the entire Amazon rain forest.
Prairie soils support native and tame grasses that have extensive root systems growing deep into the earth. Native grasses of the prairie can have roots that measure up to 15 feet in length. Sod-forming roots physically anchor fragile soil during the heavy rains and high winds that are common on the prairie. Agricultural crops which are harvested and then tilled expose the soil to erosive forces leading to a loss of carbon and precious nutrients.
It is estimated that the Conservation Reserve Program alone prevents 700 million tons of soil erosion per year, simply by changing land use practices in highly erosive prairie areas. Soil is kept on the land and out of reservoirs, lakes and streams. The program is straightforward: marginal land once used for agricultural production is put back into wildlife habitat and landowners are compensated for not farming that land.
You can learn more about the Conservation Reserve Program at
http://www.ducks.org/conservation/crp.asp
Other Grassland Benefits