Agricultural research for watershed restoration in central Mexico

ABSTRACT:

More than 60% of Mexico's soil and water resources has been identified as being in a moderately to severely degraded condition. The objective for this Mexico-United States project was to identify Best Management Practices that could restore agricultural soil in the steep of the Patzcuaro Watershed in central Mexico. The use of no-till equipment and preserving a moderate amount of crop residue (33% cover) on soils having 8% slope reduced soil loss 80%, and runoff 76%, compared to conventional tillage. Rainfall simulation studies indictlted that water infiltration is enhanced almost three-fold using no-till. Improvement of water infiltration and deep-water percolation would represent a significant modification of the local hydrologic regime for lake recharge and soil moisture retention for cropland areas. Using hydro-logical process-based modeling with satellite images and Geographical Information Systems allowed the extrapolation of point-based experimental data to the watershed scale. This technology will provide the decision-making elements needed to develop soil conservation plans and implement a national program for conservation tillage in Mexico.