SOIL EROSION CONTROL THROUGH PARAGIS GRASS (Eleusine indica) BUFFER STRIPS IN SIMULATED PLOTS |Chapter 2/3|
Chapter 2. Buffer Strip as a Mitigation of Soil Erosion
As a partial fulfillment for my bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering) last year I conducted a study that tackled the undeniable problem of the Philippines in terms of agricultural and environmental issues--soil erosion and proposed innovative mitigation.
As the previous chapter indicated, soil erosion is risking the fertility and productivity of soil, directly risking the food supply in the Philippines--although it can be related everywhere on the planet.
Read chapter 1 here: https://link.medium.com/gVAb0TBUDyb
This chapter will mainly tackle the soil erosion mitigation capability of buffer strips as studied and presented by prominent researchers in the country and abroad.
Buffer Strip
Buffer strip is a farm practice that fulfills and belongs to the mitigations of soil erosion as mentioned in the previous chapter--soil restoration, sustainable agriculture, and the like.
Related Literature
Buffer strips are designed to intercept runoff using permanent vegetation (Gilley, 2005).
Buffer strips are strips interposed between fields and streams that intercept and treat the waters leaving cropland and so are a useful tool for reducing agricultural diffuse pollution in lowland areas (Borin et al., 2010).
A buffer strip can perform many functions, including channel stability, a filter for sediment and nutrients, water purification (e.g., bacteria and pathogens), a non-disturbance area, and the provision of terrestrial and stream habitats (Barling and Moore, 1994).
The purpose of the vegetative buffer is to reduce the water flow rate and to remove sediment and chemicals from runoff or wastewater by filtration, deposition, infiltration, absorption, volatilization, vegetative consumption, and decomposition, as reported by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), 1995; USDA-Soil Conservation Service (SCS), 1986 as cited by Hebblethwaite and Somody on 2008.
Related Studies
Vegetated buffer zones located along streams and in the upland portions of the catchment can minimize erosion or trap sediments in surface runoff, thereby decreasing phosphorus loading in surface water (Vought et al., 1995).
In the study conducted by Torillo and Mihara (2011), coconut husk buffer strips were proven to trap transported soils, although it has been discovered that nutrient losses from the plots with the coconut husk were slightly higher.
Filter strips of approximately 10-m wide can reduce sediment loss by 90% in moderately sloping soils while vegetative filter strips are 5-15m wide strips of vegetation established at the bottom perimeter of croplands (Baumhardt and Blanco-Canqui, 2014).
REFERENCES
Barling, R.D. and Moore, I.D. 1994. Role of Buffer Strips in Management of Waterway Pollution: A Review. Environmental Management. Vol. 18, Pages 543-558
Baumhardt R.L. and Blanco-Canqui H. 2014. Soil: Conservation Practices Ency-clopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems. Volume. 153-165. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978044452512300 0917 on July 12, 2022.
Borin, M., Passoni, M., Tempesta, T. and Thiene, M., 2010. Multiple Functions of Buffer Strips in Farming Areas. Europian Journal of Agronomy. Vol. 32, Issue 1, Pages 103-111.
Center for Regenerative Agriculture. Buffer Strips. University of Missouri.
Retrieved from https://cra.missouri.edu/resources/buffer-strips/ on June 23, 2022.
Gilley, J.E. 2005. Erosion | Water-Induced. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environ- ment. Pages 463-469. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/scie nce/article/pii/B0123485304002629 on July 12, 2022.
Hebblethwaite, J.F., Somody, C.N. 2008. Progress in Best Management Practices. The Triazine Herbicides. Pages 501-517. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286553241_Progress_in_Best_ Management_Practices on July 12, 2022.
Mihara, M. and Torillo, J.Jr. 2011. Soil Erosion Control by Coconut Husk Buffer Strip in Bohol Island of the Philippines. International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development. Vol. 2, Issue 1, Pages 25-30.
Vought, L.B.M., Pinay, G., Fuglsang, A. and Ruffinoni, C. 1995. Structure and Function of Buffer Strips from a Water Quality Perspective in Agricultural Landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning. Vol. 31, Issue 1-3, Pages 323-331.
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