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Soil and Water Conservation
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Survival of an agrarian society depends on the agricultural
productivity which is directly related to the top soil of earth and moisture
regime. The top soil and moisture availability both are adversely affected due
to deforestation. Sparse or little vegetation leads to soil erosion, high
run-off, siltation and flash floods. The Shiwalik hills in northern Haryana
constitute a major watershed for a large portion of the state. These hills are
highly degraded with very little forest cover. As a result, heavy soil erosion
takes place during monsoons. Various vegetative, mechanical, soil and water
conservation measures are being taken to conserve the top soil erosion, to
reduce the fury of the floods and to improve ground water regime.
Soil and Water Conservation Structures
Catchment area treatment is done by structural
interventions coupled with biological remedial measures and social fencing to
reduce soil erosion, break length and degree of slope and prevent scouring and
undercutting of hill surfaces channel banks and stabilized channel bed slopes.
The structural measures include staggered
contour trenches, peripheral trenches, gully plugs, spurs studs, check dams,
silt retention dams, relevant cratewire structures and drop structures.
The bio-remedial measures include
vegetative/brushwood check dams across channels, vegetative spurs in single or
double lines, vegetative filters and grass barriers, vegetative gully plugs and
stabilization of ponding area by planting trees and mulching with locally
available biomass.
In addition to structural and bio-remedial
measures, the effective closure to animal to grazing and illicit felling of
vegetation with peoples active participation can be a most effective social
fencing measure in rehabilitation of degraded catchments. Mass effective
awareness and motivation are needed both among the local people, NGOs and public
functionaries.
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2009, Haryana Forest Department, All rights reserved |
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