Conservation Tillage, Soil Erosion and Water Quality

Conservation tillage has a great effect on soil erosion and water quality. This effect is perhaps best understood by understanding of the runoff, erosion and sediment delivery processes, and how these are impacted by conservation tillage. Tillage is an operation that disturbs the soil. Each tool acts differently. Major impacts of tillage may be to invert the soil, to bury residue, to mix materials on the surface with materials below the surface, to change soil density at various levels within the soil depth, to apply materials on and into the soil. Wind erosion and groundwater quality will not be covered here, the focus will be on water erosion and surface runoff water quality