Abstract:
Introduction:
In recent years there is an increasing awareness that biodiversity is essential to agriculture and security of food, and it is an important factor in environmental conservation, however, the agriculture development might threaten biodiversity. (Thrupp, 2000)
Agriculture occupies notable percentage of land and land management. It is estimated that 38% of the worldwide land is used for agricultural activities (FAO, 2004).
1. Agriculture Activities and Effects on Land:
With the progress of agriculture and the increasing demands of food, a conflict between agriculture and biodiversity is possible (Thrupp, 2000).
Many agricultural activities, for example, drainage, cultivation, grazing and the wide use of fertilizers and insecticides have extensive effects on countless species of plants and animals (McLaughlin & Mineau, 1995).
1.1 The Impact of Agricultural Practices …show more content…
(Lal, 2001).
Cultivation might modifies many features of the soil 's physical properties, for instance, aeration, soil water, compaction, temperature, and porosity, in addition, this activity increases soil vulnerability to wind and water erosion affecting the levels of organic substances of the soil (Wood & Edwards, 1992). Furthermore, sustaining the organic substances in the right levels is important, particularly the soil carbon (C) as it influences soil properties and crop growth (Powlson et al., 2011).
Conventional agriculture activities including cultivation and using chemical fertilizers affect soil quality by changing the physical, biological and chemical aspects of the soil (Palm et al., 2014).
Nash et al. (2014) conducted a study to compare phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in cultivated and uncultivated soils and soil water and to explore the durability of cultivation-induced