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Erosion Control Measures

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ECM for Cropped Environments - Terracing

Terracing:

A terrace is an embankment constructed perpendicular to a slope to provide a barrier for water flowing down the slope as shown in the diagram. Terraces are often built following the curvature of the land. The presence of terraces reduces erosion by reducing the slope length and thereby reducing water runoff velocity as shown in the diagram below. The presence of terraces increases water infiltration and reduces runoff that can potentially erode soil. Excess water collected on the terraces drains either through a buried underground pipe system such as tile or through grassed waterways. Terrace building can be quite costly because it involves moving large quantities of soil and land grading to change the slope length.


The velocity of water increases as slope length increases. Decreasing slope length by planting rows perpendicular to the slope or by adding terraces can decrease the velocity of water and, as a result, decrease its erosive potential. Images by UNL

A terrace in Sarpy County, NE.
Image by USDA-NRCS

Terraces and no-till farming work to control erosion on a farm in Montgomery County, Iowa.
Image by USDA-NRCS

Read more on terracing

http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/soil/g750.htm

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This project was supported in part by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants CAP project 2011-68002-30029 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, adminstered by the University of California-Davis and by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education, National SMETE Digital Library Program, Award #0938034, administered by the University of Nebraska. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA or NSF.