How Can We Stop Our Land from Being Degraded

Land degradation is determined to be anything which reduces the natural environment and reduces the ability of Mother Nature to look after the Earth. This means it can cover a huge amount of issues, from building a new home to soil erosion over time.

The more your land becomes degraded the harder it becomes to produce food and the quicker the sheer number of people on this planet will become an issue. This may seem far removed from your backyard but every piece of land makes a difference.

Preventing the Degradation

In the first instance you need to consider undertaking a topographic survey. This will enable you to establish your boundaries and assess the number of trees on your property as well as building heights and the location of driveways.

This is important as you will be able to assess the impact of any further building work you are planning to undertake. But the survey will do much more than that.

Use Trees and Grass

Trees are amazing, they can grow virtually anywhere. To help prevent soil erosion you need something which will help to bind the soil together and stop it being blown or washed away. Trees and grass are excellent at this.

If you already have trees this is good but you can always plant more. If not then add them into your plans, it will help to prevent your land from being degraded.

Rotation

Using the land to grow vegetables is a great way of reducing your overheads and becoming more in touch with nature. However, it is possible to ruin the soil by over using it and stripping it of its nutrients.

Instead you should make sure that the land is never stripped bare. There should always be some coverage, even if it is grass as this will help the nutrients to build in the soil.

Build a Wall!

Walls are effective windbreaks and are excellent at containing water; as well as soil. Look for the areas of your yard which gets most damaged by water; generally it will wash away the top layer of soil. Then build a wall next to it to prevent the soil from being washed away. This is the fundamental basis of preventing degradation; protect the assets you already have.

Matting

This is an older way in which to prevent the soil from being washed away or stripped of its nutrients. Simply use wood chippings or similar natural products, to cover any vegetable patch or flower bed which is currently empty. This will help the soil to retain moisture and stop it being washed away.

Land degradation is an important topic which many people still do not consider when looking after their yards or looking to build new buildings. It is important to start thinking of ways to prevent this degradation from happening. If you assume that someone else will handle the issue then it will not be long before the world is facing an even bigger food shortage than it currently does.