Soil quality is one of the most basic and perhaps least understood indicators of land health. Soil supports plant growth and represents the living reservoir that buffers the flows of water, nutrients, and energy through an ecosystem. The ongoing degradation of the earth's soils by human activity such as urbanization, deforestation, overgrazing of cattle, and poor agricultural practices has brought about irreversible consequences that may lead to desertification of an area. .
Erosion is the wearing away of material on the surface of the land by wind, water, or gravity. In nature, erosion occurs very slowly, as natural weathering and geologic processes remove rock, parent material, or soil from the land surface. Human activity, on the other hand, greatly increases the rate of soil erosion.
Water plays an important role in soil erosion. When an area receives more water (in the form of rain, melting snow, or ice) than the ground can absorb, the excess water flows to the lowest level, carrying loose material with it. Gentle slopes are subject to sheet and rill erosion, in which the runoff removes a thin layer of top soil. .
Glaciers are important agents of erosion. Although a glacier moves slowly, it gradually removes all the loose material from the surface over which it travels, leaving bare rock surfaces when the ice melts. .
Wind is another active agent of erosion, especially in arid climates with little vegetation. Wind blowing across bare land lifts particles of sand and silt but leaves behind larger pebbles. Very small soil particles can be suspended in the air and carried away with the wind. Eventually, a surface layer of closely packed stones is formed as the sand and silt is removed. The removal of large quantities of loose material lowers the landscape slowly.
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Soil faces many threats throughout the world. Deforestation, overgrazing by livestock and agricultural practices that fail to conserve soil are three main causes of accelerated soil loss.
Soil erosion is not one of the most sought after conservation movements today. ... Soil erosion is significant, however, for various reasons. ... Additionally, soil erosion affects farming and pollution. Soil erosion can occur from winds, water and improper farming techniques. ... Wind erosion is the most obvious form of soil degradation. ...
Many conservation efforts are being taken to control soil erosion. In order to do this a universal language is need to measure soil erosion, texture, and the potential for erosion. ... The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) estimates average annual soil loss from sheet and till erosion. ... The Wind factor must be considered when evaluating soil erosion. ... These examples of using universal formulas to measure soil erosion allow scientists to evaluate an area and compare efforts that are working else where and apply them to areas were soil erosion is in need of being lessened. ...
Thus, it is important to prevent erosion. However, the urbanization, surface mining and land clearance of recent years has led to an increase in erosion. Although erosion is a natural process, it has been accelerated by man ever since the day the first settlers arrived to cut and burn trees to make room for crops. After detecting that millions of tons of soil were lost during this period, one might think that Kentuckians would strive to make the state more soil-friendly, and while some have made noteworthy attempts to save our soil, others have knowingly increased erosion by cutting down...
When the SSSA was created, scientist knew very little about the science behind soil, and to be more specific, top soil. ... Phillippe Boveye states that soils are still very much a frontier science. There is a lot to learn from past experiences of drought and top soil erosion. ... And that once the sod that was placed on top of the soil was gone the soil would soon be gone as well due to the high winds. ... From all the other sources improper farming techniques, major droughts, large dust clouds, and top soil erosion are the four main causes of the difficulties during the 1930's related t...
Bare, unprotected soil is extremely vulnerable to wind erosion. Erosion occurs with strong, turbulent winds blowing across a soil surface that is smooth, loose, dry and finely granulated. ... Slightly larger soil particles bounce or roll along soil surface. The most effective wind erosion control measure is to maintain cover on the soil surface throughout the year (Sirios 1). ... If erosion persists, a second chiseling operation may be needed. ...
These environmental issues are erosion, salinity and siltation. ... Although grazing was banned in 1969, erosion and siltation has remained a problem. It is evident with 50 sq km of unusable land caused by erosion are left behind and in other areas soil to a depth of 60cm is loss. ... The clearing out of trees, break up the soil which can lead to erosion. ... The fertility of the soil decreases as silt flows on farms and river flats. ...
These land uses led to soil exposure and great erosion. ... The soil had become exhausted. ... Wind erosion blew away the dry and denuded soil and created clouds of dust that could be seen hundreds of miles away. ... The roots would help prevent further erosion. ... Their lack of knowledge and poor agricultural practices led to the erosion of the Prairies on a massive scale. ...
Soil erosion is a natural process. ... Erosion is the wearing away of soil and rock materials. Erosion involves loosening material and transporting it to another place. Water erosion happens little bits at a time, one raindrop can hit the soil with the force of a tiny meteorite, scattering the soil a couple of centimeters. Erosion by wind happens when the wind has picked up grains of dust, soils and sand and is transported to somewhere else. ...
Producers can't live without soil. ... This process, called erosion normally occurs very slowly. But people have greatly increased the rate of soil erosion by removing natural vegetation to clear land for construction projects, mining operations, or farmland. ... Thus, fewer soil particles are washed away. ... If it weren't for soil, we would all starve to death. ...