4.1. Residue retention and soil–water relations
Conservation agriculture requires adequate soil cover to
perform critical functions including improving infiltration, plant
available water, aggregate stability, soil fertility, and soil biological
properties and decreasing evaporation, runoff, and soil erosion
(Palm et al., 2013). Most of these benefits accrue slowly and may
take years to materialize, whereas some soil–water harvesting
benefits can occur quickly, improving soil–water relations on