Description of practice
Terraces are a relatively flat areas constructed on sloping land to reduce surface water runoff and erosion and enable more effective farming. A terraced landscape resembles a large flight of steps with the risers often reinforced with stone to prevent erosion.
| Examples of how to use terraces | Further information (see Note below) |
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Traditional earth bench terracesLevel bench terraces are constructed with risers protected by fodder grasses, used for (irrigated) crop production. |
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Small level bench terracesNarrow terraces are constructed for growing perennial and horticultural crops on hillsides. |
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Agricultural terraces with dry stone wallsDry stone walls are built to reinforce the face of the terrace, creating agricultural land, minimizing soil erosion and retaining soil moisture on steep mountain slopes. |
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Graded stone wall terracesStone walls are built by digging a shallow trench into which large foundation stones are laid followed by rows of smaller stones. New stones are added to the walls each year to preserve and maintain them. The same methods have been used for generations. |
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Loess terracesLevel bench terraces are built on highly erodible loess soils. Terraces like this allow cultivation but should be maintained properly to avoid topsoil losses. |
»WOCAT technology 1445 |
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Small bench terracesSmall bench terraces are constructed along contour lines with a permanent green cover stabilizing the steep terrace face. |
»WOCAT technology 1011 |
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Bench terracesWide bench terraces like this require substantial soil mobilization and can only be constructed in deep soils. Large individual terrace plots facilitate cultivation. |
»WOCAT technology 1732 |
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Stone wall bench terracesBench terraces supported by stone walls like these are very labour intensive to construct but lead to less loss of land and highly stable terraces. |
»WOCAT technology 949 |
Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.