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, particularly agriculture, threatens human potential to feed a growing population. The annual global erosion amounts to about 36 billion tons, of which 10 billion are due to natural causes and 26 billion are the result of human activity (Crosson et al. 1995). The soil or runoff that has been eroded ends up in groundwater, lakes, streams, and rivers. The deposits of excess soil and the contaminates in it, cause further ecological complications. Bodies of water need to be dredged and monitored for contamination. Water levels are lowered with the increasing soil eroded into them, making our world's water supply a concern directly related to the erosion of soil. The process of soil renewing itself is largely unknown. However, there is consensus on the need for conservation. Evaluating the scope of the problem or predicting the effects that various solutions might have on agriculture and the environment is very difficult. Degradation is gauged for all soil in terms of compaction, erosion, nutrient loss and loss of organic matter. Soil quality refers to the capacity of a soil to perform these beneficial functions. Its texture, structure, water-holding capacity, porosity, organic matter content, and depth, among other properties determine a soil's quality. Because soils naturally vary in their capacity to perform these functions, we must tie our understanding of soil quality to landscapes and land use. We must understand soil quality for two important reasons: First, we must match our use and management of land to soil capability. Second, we must establish understanding about soil quality so we can recognize ongoing trends.
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. ...
Human activity, on the other hand, greatly increases the rate of soil erosion. Water plays an important role in soil erosion. ... Without human activities, losses of soil through erosion would in most areas probably be balanced by the formation of new soil. ... However, this organic sequence is disturbed by manmade activities and soil erosion which cause the soil to deteriorate. ... Erosion attacks the moisture-bearing ability of soils and adds deposits to waterways. ...
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. ...
