Preservation of biota and soil structure would accelerate the recovery of soil functions and promote revegetation.

The high level of concern in land vulnerability was cited with regard to widespread desertification of land with irreversible changes to soil structure or nutrient status.

Tilling should not penetrate deeper than the upper layer: there is no need to provide aeration in this case, and deep tilling may damage soil structure.

This includes teaching the farmers how to make compost as a means for maintaining soil structure and improving water-holding capacity.

Iraq notes that after HTTD, the treated soil “would be black, completely sterile and without soil structure.” According to Iraq, alternative remediation methods such as asphalt batching, combustion for power generation and bioremediation, would be more appropriate.

By relying partially on bioremediation, the programme should preserve ecologically valuable biological materials and soil structures present in the contaminated soil underlying the highly contaminated surface layers of the oil lakes.

While tilling will introduce some residual oil contamination into the clean surface layer, it should provide a net biological benefit because this process will transfer residual biological activity, organic matter, and soil structure from the bioremediated layer.

Removal of the natural vegetation cover when combined with unsustainable soil and water management practices in the converted rangelands brings about soil erosion, soil structure change and soil fertility decline.

Land management and tillage practices also affect the soil biota, fertility, structure, aeration and hydrology in various ways.

As a result erosion - caused by wind or water - becomes more intensive, soil degradation will be enhanced, and the effect of all other soil degradation processes will be increased, especially soil structure deterioration and reduction of the biological activities in the soil.