ABSTRACT
This practice is perhaps the most common reason for applying mulches. A mulch for this purpose should decrease the evaporation of water from soil and should increase the infiltration of water into soil (Figure 8.1). Water rises naturally in the small pores and channels of soils through capillary action. A mulch breaks up the capillary rise at the soil surface and inhibits evaporation of water into the atmosphere. Also, the soil is protected from drying by direct sunlight and wind. Mulches decrease runoff over the soil surface and enhance penetration of water into the soil. On a bare soil, precipitation may not enter the soil as easily as it will run across the surface and off the land. Mulches absorb the energy of rainfall, impede runoff, and increase the time that water is in contact with a given area of soil, thereby increasing infiltration of water into the soil.
