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Sunday, March 16, 2008

Soil erosion and its prevention:




Soil erosion and its prevention:

Soil erosion by water, wind and tillage affects both agriculture and the natural environment. Soil loss, and its associated impacts, is one of the most important (yet probably the least well-known) of today's environmental problems. It is mostly due to poor land use practices, which include deforestation, overgrazing, unmanaged construction activity and road or trail building.

Soil is a complex mixture of living and non-living materials. It provides anchorage and sustenance to plants. Natural agents like water and wind, constantly tend to remove the top soil and cause erosion. Rain falling upon the unprotected top soil, washes it down into the streams. Due to the absence of plant covering, eroded soil cannot hold water. Water rushes into the rivers and overflows as flood. Dust storm also causes soil erosion. The particles of top soil are picked up in such quantities that they form clouds of dust. Human beings also cause soil erosion. The growing human habitation and expansion of urban areas lead to removal of vegetation. Once vegetation is removed, the naked soil gets exposed to wind and water. Improper tillage is another cause of soil erosion. Farmers often loosen the top soil for removing weeds and preparing seed beds. They also leave agricultural fields lying fallow for long time. These practices expose the top soil to the wind and cause erosion.

Soil erosion is always a result of mankind's unwise actions, such as overgrazing or unsuitable cultivation practices. These leave the land unprotected and vulnerable. Accelerated soil erosion by water or wind may affect both agricultural areas and the natural environment, and is one of the most widespread of today's environmental problems. Soil erosion is just one form of soil degradation. Other kinds of soil degradation include salinisation, nutrient loss, and compaction.

Prevention of soil erosion: Plants provide protective cover on the land and prevent soil erosion for the reasons: (a) plants slow down water as it flows over the land (runoff) and this allows much of the rain to soak into the ground; (b) plant roots hold the soil in position and prevent it from being washed away; (c) plants break the impact of a raindrop before it hits the soil, thus reducing its ability to erode; (d) plants in wetlands and on the banks of rivers are of particular importance as they slow down the flow of the water and their roots bind the soil, thus preventing erosion.

Preventing soil erosion requires technical changes to adopt. Aspects of technical changes include: (i) use of contour ploughing and wind breaks; (ii) leaving unploughed grass strips between ploughed land; (iii) making sure that there are always plants growing on the soil, and that the soil is rich in humus (decaying plant and animal remains). This organic matter is the "glue" that binds the soil particles together and plays an important part in preventing erosion; (iv) avoiding overgrazing and the over-use of crop lands; (v) allowing indigenous plants to grow along the river banks instead of ploughing and planting crops right up to the water's edge; (vi) encouraging biological diversity by planting several different types of plants together; (vii) conservation of wetlands (see Enviro Facts "Wetlands" and "River Catchments").

We can check soil erosion by adopting the following additional practices:

1. Intensive cropping and use of proper drainage canals.

2. Terracing on the sloping fields. This retards the speed of the flowing water.

3. Planting trees and sowing grasses.

4. Extensive aforestation practices to be carried out.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your post gives one of the best points to prevent soil erosion. This is a good eye opener that deforestation and over-logging can be disastrous. Nature has many ways to exact revenge through floods and landslides. Proper gardening and land use practice such as you mentioned and Soil stabilization AriZona are possible answers to address soil erosion problems.

upnorth said...

what we really need to do is take back some of the water we have made go away thru ditching and draining for the last 100 years and hold back some of the water so we dont run out and it will stop some of the erosion that is going on we created these problems by draining the land for farming www.boulder-walls.com

Unknown said...

It’s quite difficult to achieve a permanent solution to erosion issues without the use of erosion control products . They work wonders for long-lasting erosion-free landsites while making way for good vegetation growth.

0s0-Pa said...

Great sediment control and erosion tips. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

This text should be in divde in such way that no one sould get confuish line break should be there

steve said...

soil erosion is a serious threat to humans and nature. Not only it causes natural calamities such as flood and landslides, but also it robs soil of iys fertility.

steve said...
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steve said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
techno said...

useful information of erosion control and how can we prevent it.
nice and unique article keep sharing this type of informative updates
soil erosion definition

samuel woods said...

lack of importance and knowledge of farming leads people to convert farmland into residential and commercial place.
It causes heavy damage to soil and converts it into soil erosion

Alicia climent said...

Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer of soil, the agents of soil erosion are the same as the agents of all types of erosion: water, wind, ice, or gravity. Running water is the leading cause of soil erosion because water is abundant and has a lot of power. The wind is also a leading cause of soil erosion because wind can pick up soil and blow it far away.