Which of the following practices can help reduce soil erosion?

Prepare for the Illinois PAS Crop Specialist Test. Study using our comprehensive flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each with helpful hints and detailed explanations. Get ready to ace your exam!

Crop rotation is a beneficial practice that helps reduce soil erosion due to its ability to improve soil structure, enhance nutrient availability, and promote biodiversity in the soil ecosystem. By alternating different crops in a particular sequence, crop rotation breaks pest and disease cycles, which can reduce the need for chemical inputs that might otherwise lead to erosion through heavy application or runoff. Additionally, a variety of root structures from different crops can help hold soil in place better than a single crop type. This approach not only protects the soil from wind and water erosion but also contributes to overall soil health, making it more resilient against erosion threats.

This contrasts with practices like overgrazing, intensive tillage, and monoculture cropping, which tend to exacerbate soil erosion. Overgrazing exposes the soil to erosion by removing ground cover, intensive tillage can disturb the soil structure and lead to erosion, and monoculture cropping tends to weaken soil health over time, making it more vulnerable to erosion.

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