Save time and effort with this practical guide to all aspects of water and soil conservation Soil and Water Conservation Handbook is a concise, compact encyclopedia of the policies, practices, conditions, and terms related to soil and/or water conservation. This handy A-to-Z guide contains descriptions of more than 700 entries, presente

For as far into the future as we can see, governments will probably topple, power will continue to exchange hands, the climate will undergo continuous change, and the global economy will ebb and flow like the oceans. But for the world's many diverse countries-whether they be highly industrialized or third world-one thing will always remain constant: the need to solve the planet's pressing soil and water conservation problems, as well as implement effective policies. But why do some policy initiatives succeed while others fail? Soil and Water Conservation Policies and Programs: Successes and Failures addresses this very question. Based on an international conference held in Prague, this book debates the strengths and weaknesses of soil and water conservation initiatives implemented in North America, Europe, and Australia. Soil and water conservation policies in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, and other countries are examined through the eyes of technical and soil scientists. And the book also addresses specialized topics, such as agricultural pollution abatement in Poland, and private farmers and contemporary conservation subsidy programs in the Czech Republic. With its thorough treatment of the subject matter, Soil and Water Conservation Policies and Programs: Successes and Failures contributes to resolving one of the world's most pressing conservation issues.

Water harvesting is gaining more and more recognition as a sustainable and resilient water supply options. It is economically viable, socially compatible and environmentally friendly. Water harvesting has proven to be a robust solution to overcome or reduce water shortages all over the world. It is important to understand how to apply this practice in a sustainable and effective way to make full use of its potential in a world increasingly threatened by water scarcity. The Handbook of Water Harvesting and Conservation: Basic Concepts and Fundamentals is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and applied handbook on water harvesting and conservation yet published. The book’s 30 chapters -- written by 84 outstanding international experts from approximately 20 selected countries faced by drought -- explore, critique and develop concepts and systems for water harvesting. The editors bring together many perspectives into a synthesis that is both academically based and practical in its potential applications. The Handbook of Water Harvesting and Conservation: Basic Concepts and Fundamentals is an important tool for education, research and technical works in the areas of soil, water and watershed management and is highly useful for drought strategy planning, flood management and developing techniques to adapt to climate change in urban, agricultural, forest and rangeland areas.

Water harvesting is gaining more and more recognition as the sustainable and resilient alternative to other water supply options. It is economically viable, socially compatible and environmentally friendly. Water harvesting has proven to be a robust solution to overcome or reduce water shortages all over the world. To apply this in a sustainable and effective way, it is important to understand exactly where it can be applied to make full use of its potential. The Handbook of Water Harvesting and Conservation: Case Studies and Application Examples is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and applied casebook on water harvesting and conservation yet published. The editors bring together the many perspectives into a synthesis that is both academically-based and practical in its potential applications. The Handbook of Water Harvesting and Conservation: Case Studies and Application Examples will be an important tool for education, research and technical works in the soil, water and watershed management area, and will be highly useful for drought strategy planning, flood management and adaptation to climate change in all urban, agricultural, forest, rangeland areas.

"This book is designed as a text for undergraduate soil and water engineering courses and as preliminary reading for postgraduate courses in soil and water engineering. It is hoped that it will also be of value to specialists, experts and engineers already in the field and to students preparing for the M.Sc. and PhD examinations. The texts and exercises are based on my lecture courses to undergraduate water science engineers augmented by material prepared for extramural short courses. Wherever possible, illustrations have been used to clarify the texts. The purpose of this book is to bring together and integrate in a single text the subject matter that deals with soil and water engineering. The book is divided into 24 chapters and is intended for students, researchers, and professionals working on various aspects of soil and water engineering. Various soil and water subjects have been discussed in the chapters"--

The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) method is one of the most popular methods for computing the runoff volume from a rainstorm. It is popular because it is simple, easy to understand and apply, and stable, and accounts for most of the runoff producing watershed characteristics, such as soil type, land use, hydrologic condition, and antecedent moisture condition. The SCS-CN method was originally developed for its use on small agricultural watersheds and has since been extended and applied to rural, forest and urban watersheds. Since the inception of the method, it has been applied to a wide range of environments. In recent years, the method has received much attention in the hydrologic literature. The SCS-CN method was first published in 1956 in Section-4 of the National Engineering Handbook of Soil Conservation Service (now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service), U. S. Department of Agriculture. The publication has since been revised several times. However, the contents of the methodology have been nonetheless more or less the same. Being an agency methodology, the method has not passed through the process of a peer review and is, in general, accepted in the form it exists. Despite several limitations of the method and even questionable credibility at times, it has been in continuous use for the simple reason that it works fairly well at the field level.