Which practice is listed as a soil management technique in Iowa, USA?

Which practice is listed as a soil management technique in Iowa, USA?

• A. Terracing
• B. Monoculture
• C. Deforestation
• D. Urban development

Answer: (A)

Modifying the landscape to reduce erosion and conserve soil is the idea behind this question. Terracing creates level steps on sloped land, which slows rainfall runoff, increases water infiltration, and keeps soil from washing away. In Iowa’s croplands, where rainfall on hillsides can carry topsoil off the field, terraces help protect the valuable soil and keep fields productive. The other options don’t serve as soil management techniques in the same way: growing one crop repeatedly (monoculture) doesn’t inherently control erosion; removing forest cover (deforestation) tends to increase erosion; and building urban areas replaces soil with impervious surfaces, worsening runoff. So terracing is the soil management practice listed for Iowa.

Modifying the landscape to reduce erosion and conserve soil is the idea behind this question. Terracing creates level steps on sloped land, which slows rainfall runoff, increases water infiltration, and keeps soil from washing away. In Iowa’s croplands, where rainfall on hillsides can carry topsoil off the field, terraces help protect the valuable soil and keep fields productive. The other options don’t serve as soil management techniques in the same way: growing one crop repeatedly (monoculture) doesn’t inherently control erosion; removing forest cover (deforestation) tends to increase erosion; and building urban areas replaces soil with impervious surfaces, worsening runoff. So terracing is the soil management practice listed for Iowa.