How can we stop over cultivation and overgrazing?

Over-cultivation takes place when farmland is excessively used to an extent where production falls because of soil exhaustion. Soil exhaustion occurs when the soil’s nutrients are so depleted that increased use of water, fertilizers or any other such resources do not result in increased productivity. Also, when land is excessively plowed, the top-soil cover is often loosened and exposed to erosion by wind and rain. This can be mitigated by the planting of cover crops that provide vegetative cover to the soil surface, thus protecting it from the adverse effects of erosion by wind or rain drops. Generally, the negative effects of over-cultivation can be addressed through various sustainable agricultural methods. For instance, fallow periods allow the soil to rest in between planting seasons; crop rotation can help to reduce the depletion of soil nutrients since crops that use up particular nutrients are interchanged by those that replenish these nutrients, in successive planting seasons; wind-breaks can be used to prevent soil erosion etc.
Overgrazing takes place when vegetation is exposed to intensive grazing, for long periods of time, without sufficient resting periods. Its negative effects include soil erosion, land degradation, and food shortages as a result of land degradation. In order to combat these negative effects, farmers can explore sustainable animal management methods such as rotational grazing, supplement pasture forage with stored livestock feed, identify and keep animals away from bare soil grazing lands, etc.