What is Soil Erosion? How Can We Prevent It?
What is Soil Erosion? How can we prevent soil erosion?
What is Soil Erosion? How Can We Prevent It?
Soil Erosion
It is a natural phenomenon in which the topmost layer of the soil gets carried away due to wind, rainwater, or flood. The soil erosion process occurs slowly and is not so visible in the beginning and comes to the notice when the land had been degraded in an alarming situation.
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 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 force that it can easily move the soil particles to the side and make a gully-type pattern. It is highly visible.
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. WaterControl: The places where erosion occurs due to water, their new water system should be placed That is placing pipes, shafts will help in diverting 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
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 phenomenons like floods and landslides take place. Even agriculture causes soil erosion as for agriculture tress are removed and seeds are sowned in the on month of spring with causes it be barrened in the months of winter. Grazing of animals like sheep and cows also causes soil erosion as while grazing they remove the plants from there roots. For the construction of buildings, tractors are driven to level the ground causing the fertile soil to get eroded.
There are various impacts of soil erosion. The soil loses its nutrients while affecting 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 helpfull in controlling the erosion than the plants which are new and there roots are not very strong. Fertilisers and nutrients should be added to the soil to maintain its nutritive value so that it can give rise to a healthy plant.
– Written By Kumari
