5.2.9—Soil conservation techniques

Choose soil conservation by identifying the degradation pathway and selecting a technique that interrupts it.

Main threat	Suitable techniques	How they help
Water erosion	terracing, contour ploughing, bunding, drainage, cover crops	slow runoff, increase infiltration or keep particles protected
Wind erosion	tree or hedge windbreaks, cover crops	reduce wind speed and keep soil covered
Fertility decline	lime, compost, green manure	adjust acidity or restore nutrients and organic matter
Cultivation pressure	avoid marginal land, limit overgrazing/overcropping, strip or mixed cropping, rotation, reduced tillage, agroforestry, less heavy machinery	maintain cover, structure, diversity and recovery

On a bare slope, contour cultivation and cover crops directly slow water and bind soil; lime would address acidity but not the main erosion pathway.

Explain the threat → technique → changed process → environmental, economic or sociocultural benefit.

One technique may solve several problems, but naming it without a mechanism does not show that it fits the site.