Soil Erosion, Conservation and Land Degradation MCQs 2026

Soil salinity becomes a land degradation problem when:

1. A exchangeable calcium dominates the clay complex ✓
2. B all soluble salts are leached from the profile ✓
3. C soluble salts accumulate in the root zone ✓
4. D soil pH falls below 4.0 only ✓

Strip cropping controls erosion by:

1. A keeping all strips fallow in the rainy season ✓
2. B alternating erosion-prone crops with close-growing protective crops ✓
3. C burning crop residues before sowing ✓
4. D placing fertilizer only on hilltops ✓

Vegetative cover reduces erosion mainly by:

1. A intercepting raindrops and binding soil with roots ✓
2. B increasing slope gradient ✓
3. C removing all organic residues ✓
4. D raising runoff velocity ✓

Wind erosion is most likely to be severe where soil is:

1. A dry, loose, fine textured and bare ✓
2. B wet, compact and well covered ✓
3. C covered with dense pasture ✓
4. D protected by shelterbelts ✓

A deep channel formed by concentrated runoff that cannot be removed by normal tillage is called:

1. A a furrow ✓
2. B a terrace ✓
3. C a gully ✓
4. D a rill ✓

The main principle of contour ploughing is to cultivate the land in lines that are:

1. A straight down the maximum slope ✓
2. B at equal elevation across the slope ✓
3. C parallel to the prevailing wind ✓
4. D randomly oriented across the field ✓

In the Universal Soil Loss Equation, which set represents rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length-steepness, cover and support practice factors?

1. A K, Na, SAR, EC and pH ✓
2. B R, K, LS, C and P ✓
3. C N, P, K, S and Zn ✓
4. D ET, PET, FC, PWP and AW ✓

Which form of water erosion is primarily caused by the impact of raindrops detaching soil particles?

1. A Splash erosion ✓
2. B Sheet erosion ✓
3. C Gully erosion ✓
4. D Wind erosion ✓

Conservation agriculture is built mainly on minimal soil disturbance, crop rotation and:

1. A permanent soil cover ✓
2. B continuous bare fallow ✓
3. C maximum residue burning ✓
4. D uncontrolled grazing ✓

A diversion drain is used to:

1. A redirect excess runoff away from vulnerable land ✓
2. B increase flow through active gullies ✓
3. C remove all crop residues ✓
4. D replace contour farming in every field ✓

Over-irrigation can degrade land by causing:

1. A immediate erosion control only ✓
2. B complete removal of salinity risk ✓
3. C waterlogging and secondary salinization ✓
4. D lower water table in all cases ✓

Stubble retention reduces wind erosion because it:

1. A removes all roughness ✓
2. B roughens the surface and protects soil particles ✓
3. C smooths the soil surface completely ✓
4. D raises salt concentration ✓

Rainfall erosivity depends mainly on rainfall:

1. A intensity and kinetic energy ✓
2. B color and temperature ✓
3. C pH alone ✓
4. D seasonal price index ✓

Land degradation includes deterioration of:

1. A physical, chemical and biological soil properties ✓
2. B only seed germination percentage ✓
3. C only machinery efficiency ✓
4. D only market access ✓

Mass movement differs from ordinary sheet erosion because it involves:

1. A only wind transport ✓
2. B uniform removal by raindrops ✓
3. C downslope movement of soil or rock under gravity ✓
4. D only detached clay particles in suspension ✓

Vegetative buffer strips near waterways mainly:

1. A replace rainfall erosivity ✓
2. B filter sediment and nutrients from runoff ✓
3. C increase sediment delivery ✓
4. D promote gully head cutting ✓

No-till farming primarily conserves soil by:

1. A minimizing soil disturbance ✓
2. B maximizing repeated soil inversion ✓
3. C removing residues after harvest ✓
4. D increasing bare fallow ✓

Increasing infiltration generally reduces erosion by:

1. A decreasing surface runoff ✓
2. B increasing raindrop impact ✓
3. C raising wind velocity ✓
4. D removing vegetation ✓

Sedimentation of reservoirs and canals is an example of:

1. A a tillage operation ✓
2. B a seedbed preparation effect ✓
3. C an off-site effect of soil erosion ✓
4. D an on-site gain from erosion ✓

Gypsum is commonly applied for reclamation of:

1. A acid sulfate soil only ✓
2. B sodic soil with excess exchangeable sodium ✓
3. C saline soil with no sodium problem ✓
4. D peat soil with high organic matter ✓

Erosion risk is usually greatest on:

1. A bare steep slopes during intense rainfall ✓
2. B level fields with dense mulch ✓
3. C permanent forest with litter cover ✓
4. D well terraced land under grass ✓

Biological soil conservation measures are based mainly on:

1. A chemical sterilization ✓
2. B deep subsoiling only ✓
3. C vegetation and living plant cover ✓
4. D concrete lining only ✓

Integrated watershed management means treating:

1. A only fertilizer use in one crop ✓
2. B uplands, drainage lines and users as one hydrological unit ✓
3. C only the lowest farm in a valley ✓
4. D only windbreak spacing ✓

Soil crusting increases erosion risk because it:

1. A reduces infiltration and increases runoff ✓
2. B improves infiltration rapidly ✓
3. C adds stable organic matter ✓
4. D prevents all runoff formation ✓

Contour bunds are constructed primarily to:

1. A intercept runoff along the contour ✓
2. B accelerate downslope runoff ✓
3. C remove topsoil intentionally ✓
4. D increase gully depth ✓

Soil compaction is a form of land degradation because it:

1. A always lowers bulk density ✓
2. B removes clay from the profile ✓
3. C reduces infiltration and root penetration ✓
4. D increases macropores and root growth ✓

A grassed waterway is designed to:

1. A carry runoff at erosive velocity ✓
2. B safely convey runoff through a vegetated channel ✓
3. C concentrate runoff in bare channels ✓
4. D replace all field drainage systems ✓

Agroforestry helps conserve land because trees:

1. A provide perennial cover and deep root systems ✓
2. B reduce ground cover permanently ✓
3. C increase runoff by removing residues ✓
4. D make erosion control impossible ✓

In USLE, the LS factor represents:

1. A slope length and slope steepness ✓
2. B soil salinity and sodicity ✓
3. C leaf spot intensity ✓
4. D lime saturation ✓

The basic sequence in wind erosion is:

1. A irrigation, puddling and transplanting ✓
2. B mulching, terracing and drainage ✓
3. C detachment, transport and deposition ✓
4. D leaching, salinization and alkalization ✓

Land capability classification groups land according to:

1. A seed rate requirement only ✓
2. B limitations and suitability for sustained use ✓
3. C crop market price only ✓
4. D number of tractors available ✓

Green manuring conserves soil by:

1. A adding biomass that improves structure and fertility ✓
2. B reducing organic matter ✓
3. C increasing wind speed at the surface ✓
4. D creating bare fallow strips ✓

Ravine formation is best described as:

1. A a severe stage of gully erosion ✓
2. B a form of fertilizer loss only ✓
3. C a symptom of waterlogging only ✓
4. D surface sealing by clay ✓

The common reclamation approach for saline soils is:

1. A deep ploughing without water ✓
2. B continuous shallow tillage only ✓
3. C leaching salts with good-quality water and providing drainage ✓
4. D adding more salts ✓

Mulching reduces erosion by:

1. A increasing runoff velocity ✓
2. B shielding soil from raindrop impact and reducing evaporation ✓
3. C making soil bare ✓
4. D raising the sodium adsorption ratio ✓

Streambank erosion is caused principally by:

1. A flow undercutting and scouring channel banks ✓
2. B dry fertilizer placement ✓
3. C balanced crop rotation ✓
4. D uniform sheet flow on uplands ✓

Overgrazing accelerates erosion mainly by:

1. A removing protective vegetation and compacting soil ✓
2. B increasing mulch cover ✓
3. C improving infiltration in all cases ✓
4. D forming stable terraces ✓

Soil organic matter helps resist erosion chiefly because it:

1. A eliminates infiltration ✓
2. B raises salt toxicity ✓
3. C improves aggregate stability ✓
4. D increases soil crusting ✓

Check dams in gullies are used to:

1. A make runoff more erosive ✓
2. B slow runoff and trap sediment ✓
3. C increase channel slope ✓
4. D remove vegetation from waterways ✓

A cover crop is grown mainly to:

1. A protect and improve soil between main crops ✓
2. B increase bare fallow duration ✓
3. C accelerate runoff from fields ✓
4. D remove all nitrogen from soil ✓

Desertification refers to:

1. A land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas ✓
2. B normal soil formation under forests ✓
3. C seasonal flooding of rice fields ✓
4. D addition of compost to sandy soil ✓

A sodic soil is mainly identified by high:

1. A organic matter content ✓
2. B calcium carbonate only ✓
3. C exchangeable sodium percentage ✓
4. D available phosphorus ✓

Conservation tillage is characterized by:

1. A repeated deep ploughing ✓
2. B retaining crop residues on or near the soil surface ✓
3. C complete residue burning ✓
4. D leaving soil bare during storms ✓

Shelterbelts reduce wind erosion primarily by:

1. A lowering wind velocity across the field ✓
2. B increasing wind speed near the surface ✓
3. C removing crop residues ✓
4. D increasing salt concentration ✓

Soil pedestals around stones or plants are field evidence of:

1. A splash erosion ✓
2. B deep salinization ✓
3. C waterlogging ✓
4. D nutrient fixation ✓

In erosion prediction, the K factor denotes:

1. A soil erodibility ✓
2. B rainfall erosivity ✓
3. C support practice ✓
4. D crop cover ✓

Badland topography is mainly associated with:

1. A permanent pasture improvement ✓
2. B controlled drainage only ✓
3. C severe gully and ravine erosion ✓
4. D well aggregated forest soil ✓

Uniform removal of a thin layer of topsoil over a field is called:

1. A tunnel erosion ✓
2. B sheet erosion ✓
3. C gully erosion ✓
4. D bank erosion ✓

Terracing mainly reduces soil erosion by reducing:

1. A slope length and effective gradient ✓
2. B soil microbial activity ✓
3. C crop residue cover ✓
4. D soil organic carbon ✓

Small shallow channels made by runoff that can usually be removed by normal tillage are known as:

1. A rills ✓
2. B ravines ✓
3. C landslides ✓
4. D sand dunes ✓