UGC NET Conservation & Regenerative Agriculture: practice questions

1 · Residue retention and mulching · medium

In the Universal Soil Loss Equation, keeping more residue on the surface lowers which factor?

1. R, the rainfall erosivity factor
2. K, the soil erodibility factor
3. LS, the slope length and steepness factor
4. C, the cover-management factor

2 · Crop diversification and rotations · hard

Despite agronomic benefits, rice-wheat farmers in north-west India rarely diversify. Which explanation fits the evidence?

1. Alternative crops cannot grow at all in the hot climate of north-west Indian plains
2. Diversification is banned by state law in all of the rice-growing districts of the region
3. Procurement and price support favour rice and wheat; markets for alternatives are weaker
4. Rice and wheat need no water, so they are the cheapest crops to grow

3 · Effects on soil health, water infiltration and erosion · medium

What does the USLE term A represent?

1. Average annual soil loss per unit area
2. Annual rainfall amount
3. Area of the field in hectares
4. Aggregate stability index

4 · Effects on soil health, water infiltration and erosion · hard

Powlson and colleagues (2014) and Luo and colleagues (2010) concluded that the climate mitigation potential of no-till:

1. Has been underestimated, as no-till usually doubles carbon in every soil within five years
2. Has often been overstated, as whole-profile carbon gains are frequently small
3. Is exactly equal to the emissions of all agriculture worldwide
4. Cannot be studied, because soil carbon cannot be measured below the surface

5 · Regenerative agriculture: definitions and outcome frameworks · medium

An advantage of outcome-based definitions of regenerative agriculture is that they:

1. Reward measured results and allow practices to fit local conditions
2. Make measurement unnecessary because practices are not checked
3. Guarantee that soil carbon rises every year on every farm
4. Remove all risk from farmers by fixing payments regardless of results

6 · Regenerative agriculture: definitions and outcome frameworks · hard

Compared with agroecology, regenerative agriculture as usually defined:

1. Gives less weight to social and political dimensions such as governance and equity
2. Gives more weight to food sovereignty and land rights than agroecology does
3. Rejects all ecological practices such as cover crops and rotations
4. Is identical to agroecology in every principle and framework

7 · Managed and adaptive grazing · hard

Which claim about holistic or adaptive grazing is most contested by rangeland scientists?

1. That stocking rate influences the amount of forage available to grazing animals
2. That rest periods allow key plant species to regrow during the growing season
3. That it can reverse desertification widely and offset much of global emissions
4. That water points and fencing can help spread grazing pressure across a large ranch

8 · No-till and reduced tillage systems · medium

Which statement correctly distinguishes no-till from conservation agriculture?

1. No-till and CA are two names for exactly the same single practice of not ploughing
2. CA means tilling every year, while no-till means never sowing any crop at all
3. No-till requires organic certification, while CA forbids any organic inputs
4. No-till is one practice; CA combines it with permanent cover and diversification