Soil reclamation refers to various types of work aimed at improving their composition and increasing returns for people. Most often, these actions have a close relationship with agriculture. They involve the use of different methods - chemical, thermal, cultural, and hydraulic. All these procedures are aimed at improving the composition of the soil, cleaning and cleaning the landscape.
What is land reclamation
This term refers to a significant improvement in soil structure through a set of measures.Among the types of land reclamation, drainage and irrigation are considered the most significant.
Cultural and technical work, which is aimed at eliminating bushes and hummocks, strengthening loose sand, and agroforestry, is of great importance. Chemical methods can also be used. They involve the introduction of different substances. For example, liming is used for chernozem soil types.
Thanks to reclamation, it is possible to maintain and increase soil fertility, increase productivity parameters, and mitigate the influence of climatic factors. The main objectives of the procedure include the following:
- Improvement of soils located in unfavorable water conditions. They manifest themselves as an excess or lack of moisture in comparison with the volume required for the effective use of the area.
- Improvement of lands that have unfavorable chemical and physical properties. These include heavy clay and silty soils, saline soil types, and lands with high acidity parameters.
- Improvement of soils that are subject to negative mechanical influence. This can be wind or water erosion, dispersal of earth, landslides.
Types of process
There are different types of soil reclamation, each of which has certain characteristics.
Hydromelioration
The main task of hydraulic engineering measures is the correction of the water regime. It is achieved by performing drainage actions. The maximum effectiveness of the procedure is observed with bilateral moisture regulation. An example is the combination of irrigation and land drainage.
The essence of irrigation reclamation is the opposite. All measures are aimed at increasing moisture levels in areas experiencing a lack of natural water resources. Thanks to special work, it is possible to optimize atmospheric, soil and hydrological parameters. Thus, it is possible to increase soil fertility.
Agroforestry
Agrotechnical measures mean a significant improvement in the agronomic characteristics of the soil due to the deepening and cultivation of the arable part. These actions are needed for areas with low humus content, low natural fertility, and shallow humus horizon.
To improve the water regime of the soil, special processing techniques are used. To do this, they use the creation of intermittent furrows, cracks, rollers, holes and other obstacles that interfere with the flow of water and snow.
Chemical reclamation
This type of reclamation is aimed at significantly improving the agrochemical and agrophysical characteristics of the land. Different procedures can be used for this:
- Liming is the enrichment of soil with lime preparations. Most often, this procedure is carried out for non-chernozem soils. However, sometimes it is also performed for black soils.
- Gypsuming - in this situation, gypsum is added to reduce the alkalinity of the soil. This procedure is necessary for salt licks.
- Acidification - in this case, the soil is acidified. Such measures are mainly used for areas where tea is planned to be grown.
It is also permissible to use other means - peat, defecation, compost, manure, green manure or other organic means that help enrich the land.
Thermal
Such procedures are aimed at correcting the thermal regime of the soil. To achieve this, measures are taken that help transform the granulometric composition of surface horizons. An example is the addition of sand to peat soil.
Cultural and technical
This term refers to a set of technical measures that are aimed at improving the structure of the soil surface and root horizon for growing cultivated plants. This can be achieved by removing stones, stumps, and hummocks. Holes can also be filled in and shafts can be dismantled.
This type of soil improvement should be used even on constantly cultivated fields, since over time they become clogged with stones and unwanted plants. These factors provoke a decrease in yield and can damage elements of agricultural machinery. When fields are overgrown with weeds, their usable area is significantly reduced.
Forest reclamation
Forest plantings can be used to protect soils. This measure is considered an independent method of land reclamation. Forest belts contribute to effective regulation of water flow. Therefore, lands in forested areas are almost not subject to erosion. This feature is typical for large agricultural enterprises. It is also observed in farms that need a water regulating element.
Thus, forest reclamation is an additional factor that helps to constantly create favorable hydraulic conditions.
Factors influencing choice
The choice of a specific reclamation method depends on a number of factors. The main indicator is the initial condition of the soil. Oxidation or liming operations are carried out only when nutrition or restoration is necessary, when the soil structure is disturbed due to a chemical imbalance. Thus, specialists must choose reclamation methods taking into account the current situation.
External factors are also of great importance when choosing a reclamation method. The presence of forest belts and climatic factors make adjustments to the structure of agrotechnical measures. Also, the choice of methods for improving the operational characteristics of the soil is influenced by the characteristics of the future use of the land. Each cultivated plant needs specific soil composition parameters.
Reclamation work is often used to improve soil structure and is actively used in agriculture. Today, modern tools and special technical means are chosen for this.
