Which of the following is a method of soil conservation?

Terracing is a soil conservation method in which a hillside is reshaped into a series of broad, flat steps (terraces) separated by risers. Each terrace reduces the slope length and steepness, which slows down the speed of surface runoff during rain. Slower runoff has less erosive energy, so less topsoil is carried away. Water also has more time to infiltrate the soil on each level step, improving moisture availability for crops.

The other three options are actually causes of soil degradation, not conservation methods:

• Monoculture (continuously growing the same crop on the same land) depletes specific nutrients and can weaken soil structure over time.
• Deforestation removes trees and their root networks, which bind the soil and absorb rainfall impact. Bare, deforested land is highly vulnerable to erosion by both water and wind.
• Overgrazing occurs when livestock consume vegetation faster than it can regrow, leaving the soil exposed to the full force of rain and wind erosion.

Other soil conservation methods include contour ploughing, strip cropping, cover cropping, mulching, and the construction of windbreaks.