Soil crusting from cropped soils can cause serious erosion problems due to increased runoff water.
The two together, say ARS scientists who tested several solutions to surface soil crusting, are very effective in combating water runoff and soil loss on cultivated soils. Breaking surface crust by tillage worked for short, mild storms but was not as effective for high intensity storms. Canopy cover was much more efficient in reducing soil loss than in reducing runoff. By controlling surface sealing and crusting, more water infiltrates soil and less soil is lost by surface sealing. This information will be useful to farmers and land planners.