Minimising soil erosion by water

  • Erosion occurs when water runs down a slope over the top of soil. This is more likely on compacted soil
  • More than half of Abbey Farm is prone to soil erosion by water
  • Problems most frequently start in ‘tramlines’ – the tracks through crops left by our sprayer. These become compacted so do not allow rainfall to percolate into the soil. If the tramline is on a slope, water then runs downhill eroding soil and causing water logging at the bottom of the field
  • We developed a simple tool to loosen tramlines so rainfall can soak into them. It has been very effective in preventing erosion on tramlines – see pictures
  • The farm’s dirt tracks also suffer from erosion. We use earth banks and small pits to capture water from the tracks before it reaches the watercourses on Abbey Farm
  • Tramline cultivator made from old cultivator and used plough parts (photo J Harriman)
  • Tramline cultivator (photo J Harriman)
  • A tramline during rainfall where our cultivator was not used. This downhill slope runs for about 600m. Water flowing down the tramline erodes soil and leads to water logging/small scale flooding at the bottom of the field
  • A tramline during rainfall where our cultivator was used. There is much less flow down the tramline
Click image above for more information
Tramline cultivator made from old cultivator and used plough parts (photo J Harriman)
Tramline cultivator made from old cultivator and used plough parts (photo J Harriman)
Tramline during rainfall where our cultivator was not used. This downhill slope runs for about 600m. This flow erodes the tramlines and leads to water logging/small scale flooding at the bottom of the field
A tramline during rainfall where our cultivator was not used. This downhill slope runs for about 600m. Water flowing down the tramline erodes soil and leads to water logging/small scale flooding at the bottom of the field
Tramline cultivator made from old cultivator and used plough parts (photo J Harriman)
Tramline cultivator (photo J Harriman)
Tramline during rainfall where our cultivator was used. There is much less flow down the tramline
A tramline during rainfall where our cultivator was used. There is much less flow down the tramline