Mechanical Land Treatment - Contour Ripping

Contour ripping refers to the modification of soil physical properties and/or plant communities with mechanical tools (NRCS, 2002). Traditionally, the purpose of mechanical soil treatments were to support:

1. reduction of compacted soil layers,
2. reduction of water runoff and increased infiltration,
3. modification of sod-bound conditions to increase plant vigor,
4. renovation of plant communities, and
5. reduction of nutrient loads in runoff (NRCS, 2002).

As designed by NRCS, contour ripping is a viable tool for restoring sustainable soil characteristics. Results suggest that soil ripping, when done in association with other practices, reduced sediment erosion by 7% in areas with highly-erodible soils, and has the potential to effectively increase infiltration and lessen stormwater runoff and sediment losses to downstream watersheds (Rosenthal, Hoffman & Wolfe, 2003). The NRCS has established standards for grazing land mechanical treatments in Code 548.

Ripping process	Ripped training land	Contour rip treated with compost & seed

Photo acknowledgements to Dennis Hoffman, BREC.