What are the causes and solutions of soil erosion?
Soil Erosion: Causes & Solutions
Soil erosion is very harmful to the environment and mankind. I will cause us several damages, including damage to crops. Soil erosion is a process by which different agents like air, water, and mass movement cause deterioration in the upper layer of soil, The upper layer is the most fertile top layer of soil.
For soil erosion, the crops, grains can’t be grown properly. These will take us out of food and resources, which will completely destroy us. Let’s learn about the causes and solutions of soil erosion
Cause of soil erosion:-
Deforestation:- Deforestation is one of the main causes of soil erosion. For industrial or agricultural development, many forests and trees are rampantly cut down daily. But if the level of it increases, it causes soil erosion. As trees can hold the soil tightly with their roots, if we cut them down, the hold will be lost.
Construction and Recreational:- Making buildings and roads also responsible when it comes to soil erosion, as they don’t allow for the normal circulation of water. Instead, it runs off to flood nearby lands, which increases erosion in these areas. Moreover, motor-based activities like motocross also have the power to disturb ecosystems and erode the soil.
Logging and Mining:- Logging and mining is the methods by which trees are removed for some reason. which causes soil erosion. Logging causes the loss of leaf litter, or dead leaves, bark, and branches on the forest floor. Leaf litter plays a major role in preventing the forest soils from erosion.
Solution of Soil erosion:-
1) Soil erosion can be prevented by planting trees. Afforestation is the main way to prevent soil erosion.
2) If we stop till planting, it can prevent soil erosion. Seeds are first planted in the ground with the first tilling of soil. Dead plants from the previous crops remain in the ground, their roots can hold soil.
3) Preventing overgrazing can prevent soil erosion. Frequently moving animals from field to field don’t stick to one land. This gives the grass a chance to grow again.
4) If you have to chop a tree, then compensate it by planting more trees, which can stop soil erosion.
– Written By Ishita Gupta
We are all aware of the importance of the fertile top layer of the soil, it helps the trees and plants to grow by providing the required minerals. Without this layer, it is not possible to ensure the life cycle. The process of removing this fertile top layer of soil by either natural or man-made processes is known as soil erosion. Soil erosion makes landslides a very common phenomenon, which is not at all good for us.
Soil erosion can happen naturally by extreme natural calamities like floods and cyclones, which wash off the top layer, also the same happens by the fast-flowing rivers originating from the mountains. Also, one of the major causes of soil erosion is the human act of deforestation. Deforestation is the process of cutting down trees as the trees are cut down, the roots of the trees no longer bind the soil particles together and thus resulting in soil erosion. The process of removing grass and making the land barren also joins hand in soil erosion. Processes such as building concrete roads all over result in uprooting the green grass, which also helps in binding the soil together. Once the soil is eroded, we are exposed to the unfertile rocky land.
It’s high time for us to take soil erosion on a serious note and start
working on measures to come out of this dangerous problem.
– Written By Anushree Ray
Soil erosion is the process by which the topmost fertile layer of the soil is removed due to any physical impacts such as wind, water, or any animal. Due to this process, the soil loses its nutrition. It also takes place due to some of the human activities, such as deforestation. It can be said that Deforestation is the major problem that is causing erosion. People cut trees for their needs, due to which the roots leave the soil, and phenomena like floods and landslides take place. Even agriculture causes soil erosion, as for agriculture, trees are removed and seeds are sown in the month of spring, which causes it to be barren in the months of winter. Grazing of animals like sheep and cows also causes soil erosion as, while grazing, they remove the plants from their roots. For the construction of buildings, tractors are being driven in order to level the ground, causing the fertile soil to erode.
There are various impacts of soil erosion. The soil loses its nutrients, which affects the growth of the crops. It also causes natural calamities such as earthquakes and landslides.
There are ways in which soil can be prevented from eroding. The soil should not be left barren instead, grasses and shrubs should be grown on the land. Keep the drainage system of your building or house clear so that the wasted water does not go to the garden, as the overflow of water can cause erosion. Do not overwater the plants. The older plants, which have the roots attached to the ground, are more helpful in controlling the erosion than the plants which are new and their roots are not very strong. Fertilisers and nutrients should be added to the soil in order to maintain its nutritional value of the soil so that it can give rise to a healthy plant.
– Written By Kumari
It is a natural process in which the topmost layer of the soil gets carried away due to wind, rainwater, or flood. The soil erosion process occurs slowly, which is not so much visible in the starting and comes to notice when the land has been degraded in an alarming state.
Due to soil erosion, sinkholes can also be caused. Erosion entails three distinct actions: soil detachment, displacement, and deposition, whether caused by water, wind, or tillage. Topsoil, which is rich in organic matter, fertility, and soil life, is either moved “on-site” to build up over time or transported “off-site” to fill in drainage channels.
SOME TYPES OF SOIL EROSION:
a. Sheet Erosion: It mainly occurs in hilly areas in which the top sheet of soil is removed due to the water, and this kind of erosion is not that much visible.
b. Wind Erosion: Strong winds blowing over light-textured soils that have been heavily grazed during drought times are more likely to cause it.
c. Rill Erosion: Heavy rains cause rill erosion, which produces small rills over hillsides, making farming difficult.
d. Gully Erosion: In this, water runs off with such a force that it can easily move the soil particles to the side and making a gully-type pattern. It is highly visible.
CAUSES OF SOIL EROSION:
1. Deforestation: A rising population’s demand for commodities such as coffee, soybeans, palm oil, and wheat is clearing land for agriculture. Unfortunately, removing native trees and replacing them with new tree crops that don’t always hold on to the soil increases the risk of soil erosion.
2. Overgrazing: Intensive cattle raising causes overgrazing. Since plants do not have the time to regenerate, they are crushed and compacted by cattle. Topsoil sediments are transferred elsewhere during this phase. The residual soil, on the other hand, may lose its infiltration potential, resulting in more water loss from the environment and a more difficult time for new plants to develop.
3. Use of Agrochemicals: Farmers use pesticides and fertilizers on their land very often to improve their agricultural production. The excessive use of these chemicals causes the imbalance of microorganisms, which results in the growth of harmful bacteria in the soil, due to the soil degrades and the risk of soil erosion increases.
4. Construction- Buildings and roads play a part in soil erosion because they prevent water from flowing freely. Instead, it floods adjacent fields, causing deforestation in these areas to accelerate. Furthermore, motorized sports like motocross can disrupt habitats as well as alter and erode the soil.
PREVENTION OF SOIL EROSION:
a. Till carefully- Since tilling disturbs the soil’s composition, doing less tilling and fewer passes preserves more of the valuable topsoil.
b. Water Control: The places where erosion occurs due to water, their new water system should be placed, which involves placing pipes, shafts will help divert water streams away from vulnerable areas, reducing erosion.
c. Soil conservation: It is a technique in which new farming techniques are adapted to avoid soil degradation or erosion. Some of the methods, like terrace farming, crop rotation, and contour plowing, should be practiced.
e. Educate farmers: Knowledge shall be provided to the farmers regarding the ways to prevent soil erosion so that they can apply the methods to their daily agricultural practices.
f. Crop Rotation: This practice helps in making the soil rich. Only one kind of crop should not be grown on the land, it should be replaced with another crop as well.
g. Increased structure for plants: Using terraces or other methods to stabilize plant life or even the soil surrounding them may help to minimize the likelihood of soil loosening and eroding.
– Written By Mahima
