![](/template/termwiki/images/likesmall.jpg)
Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Terracing (agriculture)
Terracing (agriculture)
A method of shaping land to control erosion on slopes of rolling land used for cropping and other purposes. In early practise the land was shaped into a series of nearly level benches or steplike formations. Modern practise in terracing, however, consists of the construction of low-graded channels or levees to carry the excess rainfall from the land at nonerosive velocities. The physical principle involved is that, when water is spread in a shallow stream, its flow is retarded by the roughness of the bottom of the channel and its carrying, or erosive, power is reduced. Since direct impact of rainfall on bare land churns up the soil and the stirring effect keeps it in suspension in overland flow and rills, terracing does not prevent sheet erosion. It serves only to prevent destruction of agricultural land by gullying and must be supplemented by other erosion-control practices, such as grass rotation, cover crops, mulching, contour farming, strip cropping, and increased organic matter content.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Science
- Category: General science
- Company: McGraw-Hill
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Indian Premier League (IPL)
Indian Twenty20 cricket league, in which 10 Indian teams compete to be No.1. The league, first organised in 2008, is the second-highest paying of all ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Screening Out Loud
0
Terms
4
Blossaries
0
Followers
Bend It Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, Director) Blossary
![](/template/termwiki/images/likesmall.jpg)
![](https://accounts.termwiki.com/thumb1.php?f=08fc2ca0-1391051487.gif&width=304&height=180)
stanley soerianto
0
Terms
107
Blossaries
6
Followers
Nerve Cell Related Diseases
![](/template/termwiki/images/likesmall.jpg)
![](https://accounts.termwiki.com/thumb1.php?f=e2ab2be8-1408073817.jpg&width=304&height=180)
Browers Terms By Category
- Natural gas(4949)
- Coal(2541)
- Petrol(2335)
- Energy efficiency(1411)
- Nuclear energy(565)
- Energy trade(526)
Energy(14403) Terms
- Radiology equipment(1356)
- OBGYN equipment(397)
- Cardiac supplies(297)
- Clinical trials(199)
- Ultrasonic & optical equipment(61)
- Physical therapy equipment(42)
Medical devices(2427) Terms
- General furniture(461)
- Oriental rugs(322)
- Bedding(69)
- Curtains(52)
- Carpets(40)
- Chinese antique furniture(36)
Home furnishings(1084) Terms
- ISO standards(4935)
- Six Sigma(581)
- Capability maturity model integration(216)