CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY OF SOILS

Historically, the soil has been a natural resource little attended by governments and society in general, in spite of the importance it has as a central element in the production of food and support of the infrastructure, among many other important functions it carries out.

The little attention that is given to the soil in the development of productive activities (principally agricultural, cattle and forest) has been accompanied by the implementation of technologies that do not care about conservation and improvement of its properties. This has led to almost half of our country presents signs of edaphic degradation. Several studies have showed that there are important economic losses when the soil degradation is allowed, in addition to the negative consequences for the ecosystem. For example, it has been estimated that in our country the cost of erosion in terms of surface sowed with seasonal white maize, might reach between 7.8 and 11% of its production value. This cost does not include the economic implications ex-situ of erosion, like silt of dams or rivers, which might be even bigger than the economic losses generated by the decrease of the agricultural productivity (Cotler et al., 2011).

Mexico lacks an integral national soil strategy here there are direct and specific actions for the conservation and maintenance of their functions are defined. However, in the programs operated by the Semarnat (including those from the Conafor), Sagarpa and Conaza provide economic and technical support to the producers, for the making of hydraulic works, reforestation, conservation and soil restoration and managing of agriculture lands that may contribute to the conservation of this important natural resource.

The most important institutional programs about the incorporated surface to the protection and recovery of the soils are ProÁrbol Suelos, operated by the Conafor, and the Integral Program of Sustainable Agriculture and Productive Revert in Recurrent Disaster Areas (Piasre), through the Component of Sustainable Use of Soil and Water (Coussa), operated by the Sagarpa (Figure 3.14). As part of their actions, an economic support is granted as well as technical advisory to the owners of the lands for the execution of conservation and restoration of forest soils works, in the case of the first ones, and to areas with a recurrent drought, in the second (Table D3_SUELO04_01; IB 3-4).

Since 2007, the actions aimed at the conservation and recovery of soils financed by the Conafor, have been mainly focused on developing works and practices for the control of laminar erosion⁹, and in a minor extent to the ones for the gully erosion control.

The Programs of Environmental Compensation for Change of Use of the Soil in Forest Areas and of Forest Restoration in Priority Hydrographic Basins contemplate actions of this type, in addition to others related to the recovery of the vegetable arboreal and herbaceous cover of the lands preferably forest ones, which also contributes to fight of erosion.

The Sagarpa, on its side, has focused its attention to the control of the runoffs that affect the infrastructure and the population centers.

Note:

⁹ It is the superficial erosion in which a thin and uniform layer gets lost out of the whole soil surface. The particles are detached by trampling, wind or rainwater and later they are transported by the water flow.