Climate Change And Agricultural Conservation

Algerian agriculture will face many challenges over the coming decades. The degradation of natural resources will exert an enormous pressure on the food security of the population growth. These conditions could be aggravated by climate change. Added to this, heat stress will reduce yields significantly, especially in areas where crops are already near their maximum heat tolerance. Rainfall patterns and the hydrological cycle will be affected. The drought-prone regions may experience longer dry periods and more stringent which will cause a decrease in soil moisture and increased erosion. New approaches to the sustainable management of natural resources used in agriculture are necessary; they could reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce production costs and improve yields. Conservation of agriculture is one of these approaches; it seeks sustainable farming systems by combining minimum tillage, using crop rotation, and maintaining a permanent soil cover. Conservation farming helps to preserve the environment and reducing inter-seasonal variability of yields in low rainfall areas, mainly by limiting the decline in yields during dry years. Direct seeding is an important component of conservation agriculture; this technique reduces the disturbance of the soil, improves the efficiency of water use, enriches the soil with organic matter and reduces erosion. The accumulation of organic matter reduces the use of chemical fertilizer, improve soil biological properties and sequester carbon. Today, no-till farming is used on about 70 million ha, or about 5% of cropland in the world.