Hawassa University

Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resource

Department of Soil Resources and Watershed Management

Soil and water conservation Model Exit Exam

Choose the best answer from the given alternatives for each question

1. Risk of soil erosion can be determined through

A. Laboratory experiments (simulation)
B. Soil erosion hazard assessment and estimation using empirical models
C. Direct Field measurement
D. Using Runoff plots
E. All
F. None

2. The removal of soil by shallow surface flow in thin & uniform depth is known as:

A. Gully erosion
B. Sheet erosion
C. Splash erosion
D. Rill erosion
E. Raindrop erosion
F. All
3. Vegetation are helpful to:

A. Cover the soil and protect it from raindrop impact

B. Prevent loss of soil and moisture
C. Improve soil fertility
D. Reduce the volume and velocity of runoff
E. Maintain productivity
F. All
4. Which one of the following is not governing factor affecting soil erosion by water/runoff?

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 A. Erosivity of rainfall
B. Topographyof the land
C. Conservation practices
D. Vegetation cover
E. Depth of soil
F. None

5. A baseline survey activity performed across the slope using line level method for erosion
control is__.

A. Slope measurement
B. Measurement of vertical interval
C. Marking contour lines
D. Marking graded lines
E. C&D
F. A&B
6. Erosion is exacerbated by attempting:
A. Proper soil management practices
B. Cultivating up-and-down especially areas that are too steep
C. Use of fallow or crop rotation
D. Use of adequate vegetative cover
E. All
F. None
7. Which one of the following is not offsite consequence of soil erosion by water?
A. Eutrophication
B. Increased expenditure on fertilizers to maintain yields
C. Movement of sediment and agricultural pollutants into watercourses
D. Silting-up and contamination of dams and lakes
E. Downstream flooding
F. All

8. One is false about soil deposition during erosion process

A. It is the release of sediment load in the runoff to the bottom of the bed

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 B. The size of the soil particles is a factor influencing deposition
C. Deposition occurs when transporting capacity of the transporting agent abruptly
deceased or the resistance of the soil particles increased
D. Deposition occurs when the volume or velocity of the transporting agent reduced or
their transport capacity is less than the sediment load
E. Deposition is a selective process and it is common on flat lowlands
F. None
9. Which one of the following is true about geological erosion
A. It is the most dangerous type of erosion for productivity
B. It takes place with the exclusion of human interventions
C. The net annual soil loss is quite greater than annual soil formation
D. It needs urgent and careful planning and implementation of erosion control measures
E. All
F. None

10. A type of erosion caused by the direct bombardment of the bare soil by the rainfall to breaks
up and causes detachment of individual soil particles

A. Rill erosion
B. splash erosion
C. Gully erosion
D. Sheet erosion
E. All
F. None
11. Soil and water conservation measures protect the soil from erosion by:
A. covering the soil to protect it from raindrop impact
B. Increasing infiltration capacity of the soil to reduce runoff
C. Slowing down of runoff velocity and reduce volume of overland flow
D. Increasing the resistance of soil to erosion
E. To safely remove runoff or conserve moisture
F. All

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12. Which one of the following is not the best vegetation type to be used as a biological soil and
water conservation measure?
A. Vigorous growth
B. Shallow rooting system
C. Palatability to livestock feed
D. Closely growing
E. Vertical rooting system
F. None

13. The potential ability of rain to cause erosion depends on:

A. Intensity of rainfall
B. Frequency of rainfall
C. Duration of rainfall
D. Raindrops size
E. Amount of rainfall
F. All

14. The selection of suitable soil and water conservation measures to be used is determined by
the:

A. Type of erosion agent

B. Preference of the People
C. Availability of an outlet
D. slope of land
E. Soil property
F. All

15. All are major causes orreasons for the extremely aggravated/accelerated soil erosion in
Ethiopian highlands except:

A. Erratic and erosive rainfall patterns

B. Proper land management practices
C. Intensive crop cultivation
D. Dissected and steep topography

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 E. Deforestation and overgrazing
F. None

16. leaving of a crop land uncultivated for at least one cropping season used as means of soil and
water conservation measure is known as:

A. Intercropping
B. Relay cropping
C. Fallowing
D. Crop rotation
E. Grass strip
F. None

17. `Erosion is non-uniform process. The various distributionof soil erosion over space and time
is a function of variation in:
A. Ability of rainfall to cause erosion
B. Susceptibility of the Soil to be eroded
C. Resistance of the soil to get erosion
D. Management practices and Land cover conditions
E. All
F. None

18. Gullies can be controlled and treated by

A. Building a Cut-off drain above the gully head
B. Treating the catchment area of the gully by using appropriate conservation measures
C. Fencing the gully to avoid free grazing, farming and any traffic around the gully
D. reshaping the head and sides of the gully and re-vegetation of gully with plants
E. Using Check dams
F. All
19. Among the following structures, which one is most expensive to implement

A. Level soil bund

B. level Fanya juu
C. Bench terrace

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 D. Graded soil bund
E. None
F. None

20. Which one of the following is correct regarding soil and water conservation measures?
A. It converts low productive or marginal lands in to valuable land
B. Ridge to valley approach is not mandatory in implementing physical structures
C. It degrades land productivity
D. Any soil and water conservation measure will be suitable and used for all areas where
land degradation has taken place
E. All
F. None

21. A climatic factor that affect surface runoff

A. size of watershed
B. intensity of Rainfall
C. Slope of area
D. Shape of watershed
E. All
F. None

22. A structure not used for gentler farm land treatment for medium and low rainfall areas

A. hillside terrace
B. soil bund
C. stone bund
D. Fanyajuu bund
E. All
F. None

23. The maximum acceptable/tolerable rate of soil loss, that cannot cause reduction in yield, is
known as
A. soil loss tolerance

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 B. soil loss rate
C. time of concentration
D. soil formation
E. gully
F. none
24. Which one of the following physical structure should be constructed before the establishment
of any graded structures during soil conservation work?

A. Waterway
B. Cutoff drain
C. Graded Fanya juu
D. Graded soil bund
E. C & D
F. None

25. Which one of the following is not a suitable outlet to convey runoff?

A. Vegetated waterway
B. River
C. Reservoirs/runoff storage structure
D. Active gully
E. All
F. None
26. The layout and construction of bunds should be

A. Along the contour

B. Across the slope
C. started from the top of the watershed
D. completed before the rainy season
E. All
F. None

27. Level physical soil conservation measures are best to be implemented on areas with:

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 A. Good soil infiltration
B. Very high rainfall with excess runoff
C. steep topography
D. The purpose of disposing excess runoff
E. All
F. None

28. ____is a structure made by re-shaping a steep slope degraded area to create a series of flat or
nearly flat beds (<2m width), separated by vertical or nearly vertical walls/risers between the
beds commonly used for tree seedling planting and to control runoff and erosion

A. Hillside terrace
B. Water way
C. Bench terrace
D. Cutoff drain
E. Check dam
F. None

29. The physical structure constructed along the slope is___.

A. Hillside Terrace
B. Bench terrace
C. Water way
D. Cutoff drain
E. Check dam
F. None

30. A bund constructed following the contour, and throwing the soil upslope to form an
embankment

A. Fanyajuu
B. Waterway
C. Hillside terrace
D. Stone bund

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 E. All
F. None

31. All are the objectives of most contour structures that are constructed on cultivated land of
arid and semi-arid areas except?

A. Reduces overland flow rates

B. Drain away excess floods safely
C. Protect the land from severe erosion
D. Water harvesting/conservation
E. Allows water to infiltrate in to the soil profile for plants
F. None

32. Which one of the following water erosion type is denoted as channel erosion?

A. Splash erosion
B. Raindrop erosion
C. Gully erosion
D. Sheet erosion
E. All
F. None

33. The spacing between two consecutive physical soil and water conservation structures will
depend on

A. Ground slope
B. Soil type
C. Land use type
D. Cultivation method
E. All
F. None

34. Which one of the following is not the indicator of land degradation by soil erosion?
A. rills
B. gullies

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 C. sediment accumulation
D. deep and nutrient rich soil
E. diminishing of plant community composition
F. None
35. Which one of the following statement is correct regarding physical and biological soil and
water conservation measures
A. Mechanical structures are designed to control runoff and soil erosion where biological control
practices alone are insufficient to reduce soil erosion to permissible levels
B. Biological measures are more expensive than engineering structures
C. Physical measures are more easily fitted into farming activities than biological measures
D. Physical measures are effective enough on their own so they are ends in themselves
E. Engineering measures need less soil disturbance compared with biological measures
F. All
36. Soil and water conservation measures directly or indirectly not intended to:
A. mitigate land degradation/soil erosion
B. improve soil quality
C. degradation of soil, water and vegetative cover
D. Sustain agricultural production to address food insecurity
E. decrease sedimentation of reservoirs, rivers, and ditches
F. None
37. Aims of soil and water conservation measures includes:
A. mitigate land degradation/potentially preserve erosion prone areas
B. Decrease sedimentation of reservoirs
C. improve soil quality
D. convert marginal lands in to valuable land
E. sustain agricultural production to address food insecurity
F. All

38. Those practices, which call for the construction of some kinds of earthwork are----------
A. mechanical measures
B. Biological measures
C. agronomic measures

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 D. vegetative measures
E. All
F. None
39. MrTolera wants to measure the slope of his land. When he measures using line level, he gets
the following Vertical interval (VI). VI1=28cm, VI2=0.2m & VI3=6cm and Horizontal
distance (HD) HD1=5m, HD2=7m & HD3=600cm respectively. The slope of the land in
percentage(%) is:
A. 0.6
B. 0.5
C. 21
D. 15
E. 20
F. None
40. which one of the following is not basic principle and practice of soil and water conservation
A. Simple
B. maximum benefit
C. valley to Ridge
D. sustainable
E. All
F. none
41. in the filling and shaping process of the gully the following need to be considered except:
A. The soil should be well compacted
B. The filling operation should be done before the rains
C. to protect it from erosion, close growing crops should be planted or seeded immediately
D. The entire work of shaping and filling should be done in one operation
E. all
F. none
42. Which one is drainage control/management structure?
A. cutoff drain
B. gradedfanyajuu
C. water way

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 D. graded soil bund
E. all
F. none
43. Which of the alternatives given below doesn’t be function of terraces?
A. It reduces overland flow rates thereby reducing soil erosion.
B. It increases the infiltration of water and thus conserves moisture.
C. It fails to drain away excess floods safely
D. It retain nutrients of the land thus boosting soil fertility
E. It converts degraded hillsides to productive land
F. None
44. which one of the following is not a technical gaps /challenges of soil and water conservation
practices
A. Carelessness tying of string and using curve pole during surveying
B. Putting large stones erected up-wards
C. Implement conservation structures that are not acceptable by farmers
D. The out let of graded structures are properly connected with waterways
E. Using VI bellow or above standards to determine spacing between structures
F. Implement Physical measures during rainy season

45. One of the alternatives provided below is not among design specifications of terraces.

A. Spacing
B. Foundation
C. width of bed
D. height of the riser
E. All
F. None
46. For a 1.5% slope gradient, the height difference over 10 m horizontal distance equals ____
A. 0.015cm

B. 0.15cm

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 C. 20cm
D. 15cm
E. 1.5cm
F. None

47. Stone bunds are constructed

A. Without water retention basin/trench
B. Along the contour line by making a shallow foundation using stones
C. To slow down runoff, increases soil moisture and allowing eroded sediments to settle
above the bund
D. In the area with sufficient stones and on land with shallow soil
E. All
F. None
48. Marking of graded lines in the field are made
A. Across the slope with some gradient
B. By fixing the string at different height on poles
C. Started from the outlet and proceed upslope
D. By locating the pole having the higher reading towards the outlet
E. Toimplement graded/ discharging soil and water conservation measures
F. All

49. The layout and construction of Cutoff drains should started

A. from the top of the watershed but towards the outlet end
B. from the bottom of the watershed but away from the outlet end
C. from the top of the watershed but away from the outlet end
D. from the bottom of the watershed but towards the outlet end
E. all
F. none

50. during gully treatment which activity is done before the other
A. constructing check dam
B. reshaping the side of gully

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C. maintenance
D. stabilize with biological activity
E. all
F. none

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