Soil conservation is the careful use and management of soil. Soil can be conserved in the following ways:

• By farmers avoiding overgrazing.

This can be done by keeping the right number of animals on a piece of land.

• Farmers should practise contour farming while cultivating on steep slopes.

This is when a farmer ploughs across instead of up and down the slope.

• Practise strip farming.

• Below is an image showing how contour farming is done.

• Planting trees on farms. This practise is called agroforestry.
• Cover crops should be planted between tree crops to ensure that the soil is not left exposed. Examples of cover crops are potato vines, beans and different types of vegetables.
• Farmers should be advised to practise terrace farming on steep slopes.

The diagram below shows how terracing is done.

• Gabions are made by binding wire mesh around pieces of rock. They are then placed across gullies to help control soil erosion

• Crop rotation.
• Avoid farming near river banks.
• Afforestation - planting trees where there were no trees.
• Practise mulching - use grass and other forms of vegetation to cover open fields.