In severely eroded landscapes, extraordinary measures such as landscape restoration may be the only solution ... “where fields are significantly reduced you are actually losing money.”
Organic matter is recognized as a symbol of soil quality and health,” says Dr. David Lobb with the Department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. “When we see soils with very little organic matter on eroded hilltops, we quickly identify that land as having been degraded.”
Degraded landscapes with poor soil quality can have a huge impact on yield and net returns. Wind and water erosion often come to mind as the causes of degraded land, but Lobb says they aren’t the major cause of soil degradation. In fact, tillage erosion has been identified as the major culprit.
“Tillage erosion actually accounts for most of the soil redistribution and losses and gains in a field,” says Lobb. “It causes most of the variability in organic matter.”
One result of erosion is that valuable soil ends up at the base of a slope. “By moving the topsoil back up to the hilltops, you can see your crop yields bounce back substantially.”
Lobb says landscape restoration is similar to any other land improvement practice such as drainage or irrigation. “Our economic work on landscape restoration suggests that farmers can get high returns from improved yields that could pay for itself in a few years. Then if you don’t use practices that erode hilltops further, you will have that benefit for decades.”
One practice your soil would be better off without is high disturbance zero-till because it can cause high levels of tillage erosion. Lobb says: “We don’t see the productivity of hilltops restored when this form of conservation tillage is used.”
“Our landscape has areas of steep hills, which are best suited to grazing lands,” says Timmerman.
“Many of the grain fields are about 30 percent ridges and hills and 70 percent lowlands. For the past 15 years, we’ve been doing some trenching on some of the fields for drainage. We’ve also been transporting topsoil up to the highlands.” The manure from the cattle and hog operations is also applied to hilltops and across full fields when available.
Time, and more recently fuel costs, have been the deciding factors on the distances Timmerman is willing to move the topsoil. “We use scrapers, either farm-scale equipment or construction heavy-duty scrapers converted to hydraulics, which help control the depth of the cutting knife. We usually take 1 or 2 inches of topsoil, leaving a saucer-shaped ditch to make other farming operations easier.”
In the fall of 2004, Timmerman got some help. Lobb and graduate student Diane Smith initiated a two-year project on the Timmerman farm to restore four eroded hilltops, which had not received manure in the past. The trials used Timmerman’s farming equipment and practices.
“We added 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) of topsoil to half of each hilltop, keeping the other half for comparison,” explains Smith. “We found very significant yield differences between the restored hilltop plots and the control plots.” The 2006 yield results speak for themselves. Field pea yields increased by 64 percent on the restored plots. At some other project sites in Timmerman’s area, wheat yields increased by 128 percent and flax by 94 percent.
Smith says: “The research shows we’re not compromising yields by moving the topsoil from depressions to the hilltops, and the soil fertility and organic matter levels also improved in the upper slope positions of the restored hilltops. “Overall the study shows that by restoring eroded hilltops, there can be significant improvement in yields and economic returns. Our results show that restoring eroded landscapes is a logical, innovative and practical strategy for farmers to implement in their operations.”
Timmerman says he is pleased with the results and is seeing an improvement in organic matter and yields on his fields.
Wind and water erosion are often identified as causes of degraded land, but in fact, tillage is the major culprit.
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In severely eroded landscapes, extraordinary measures such as landscape restoration may be the only solution ... “where fields are significantly reduced you are actually losing money.”
Organic matter is recognized as a symbol of soil quality and health,” says Dr. David Lobb with the Department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. “When we see soils with very little organic matter on eroded hilltops, we quickly identify that land as having been degraded.”
Degraded landscapes with poor soil quality can have a huge impact on yield and net returns. Wind and water erosion often come to mind as the causes of degraded land, but Lobb says they aren’t the major cause of soil degradation. In fact, tillage erosion has been identified as the major culprit.
“Tillage erosion actually accounts for most of the soil redistribution and losses and gains in a field,” says Lobb. “It causes most of the variability in organic matter.”
One result of erosion is that valuable soil ends up at the base of a slope. “By moving the topsoil back up to the hilltops, you can see your crop yields bounce back substantially.”
Lobb says landscape restoration is similar to any other land improvement practice such as drainage or irrigation. “Our economic work on landscape restoration suggests that farmers can get high returns from improved yields that could pay for itself in a few years. Then if you don’t use practices that erode hilltops further, you will have that benefit for decades.”
One practice your soil would be better off without is high disturbance zero-till because it can cause high levels of tillage erosion. Lobb says: “We don’t see the productivity of hilltops restored when this form of conservation tillage is used.”
“Our landscape has areas of steep hills, which are best suited to grazing lands,” says Timmerman.
“Many of the grain fields are about 30 percent ridges and hills and 70 percent lowlands. For the past 15 years, we’ve been doing some trenching on some of the fields for drainage. We’ve also been transporting topsoil up to the highlands.” The manure from the cattle and hog operations is also applied to hilltops and across full fields when available.
Time, and more recently fuel costs, have been the deciding factors on the distances Timmerman is willing to move the topsoil. “We use scrapers, either farm-scale equipment or construction heavy-duty scrapers converted to hydraulics, which help control the depth of the cutting knife. We usually take 1 or 2 inches of topsoil, leaving a saucer-shaped ditch to make other farming operations easier.”
In the fall of 2004, Timmerman got some help. Lobb and graduate student Diane Smith initiated a two-year project on the Timmerman farm to restore four eroded hilltops, which had not received manure in the past. The trials used Timmerman’s farming equipment and practices.
“We added 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) of topsoil to half of each hilltop, keeping the other half for comparison,” explains Smith. “We found very significant yield differences between the restored hilltop plots and the control plots.” The 2006 yield results speak for themselves. Field pea yields increased by 64 percent on the restored plots. At some other project sites in Timmerman’s area, wheat yields increased by 128 percent and flax by 94 percent.
Smith says: “The research shows we’re not compromising yields by moving the topsoil from depressions to the hilltops, and the soil fertility and organic matter levels also improved in the upper slope positions of the restored hilltops. “Overall the study shows that by restoring eroded hilltops, there can be significant improvement in yields and economic returns. Our results show that restoring eroded landscapes is a logical, innovative and practical strategy for farmers to implement in their operations.”
Timmerman says he is pleased with the results and is seeing an improvement in organic matter and yields on his fields.
Wind and water erosion are often identified as causes of degraded land, but in fact, tillage is the major culprit.
Back to Top Back to Table of ContentsWrite a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.