Erosion

Kushi Gowda
 What is erosion?

 Removing material from one place and transporting it toward another with
wind or water
 Erosion and Deposition (eroded material arriving at its new location) are
natural processes that eventually help create soil.

The problems with erosion:

 Almost always occurs faster than new soil is formed
 Tends to remove topsoil from the A Horizon, which is the most important soil
layer for living things
Causes of erosion

 Overcultivating fields through poor planning or excessive tilling: soil is

loosened, making it easier for wind and water to take it away
 Overgrazing rangelands with more livestock than the land can support:
exposes more soil to wind and water
 Clearing forests on steep slopes or with large clear-cuts: easily allows wind
and water to carry away soil because of gravity
 Greater precipitation intensities: larger force of water carries away soil
 Removing plant/vegetative cover: nothing to protect soil and crops from
forceful winds
Types of erosion

 Wind Erosion: the erosion, transportation, and deposition of topsoil by the

wind, especially in dust storms
 Splash Erosion: occurs when raindrops dislodge soil particles that fill in gaps
between remaining clumps, decreasing the soil’s ability to absorb water
 Sheet Erosion: occurs when water flows in thin sheets over broad surfaces,
washing topsoil away in uniform layers
 Rill Erosion: occurs when water runs along small furrows, deepening and
widening them into channels called rills; rills can merge to form larger
channels and eventually gullies; has the greatest potential to move topsoil
 Gully Erosion: occurs when large channels cut deeply into soil, leaving large
gullies that expand as erosion proceeds; more likely to occur where slopes
are steeper
Ways to protect against
erosion
 Crop Rotation: the farming practice of alternating the type of crop grown
in a given field from one season or year to the next; minimizes the erosion
that can come from letting fields lie unplowed
 Contour Farming: the farming method of plowing furrows sideways across a
hillside, perpendicular to its slops; the furrows follow the natural contours of
the land; helps prevent the formation of rills and gullies; the downhill side of
each furrow becomes a small dam that slows runoff and catches soil
before it is carried away by the water
 Terracing: the farming method which cuts series of steps into the slope,
allowing farmers to cultivate hilly land without losing large amounts of soil to
water erosion; the most effective method for preventing erosion; minimizes
erosion in steep mountainous areas
Ways to protect
against erosion (cont.)
 Intercropping: the farming practice of planting different types of crops in
alternating rows or other spatially mixed arrangements; helps slow erosion
by providing more ground cover than does a single crop
 Shelterbelts: rows of trees or other tall, perennial plants that are planted
along the edges of fields to slow the wind and protect the crops and soil
from the wind; reduce erosion from the wind
 No-Till Farming: a tractor pulls a “no-till drill” that cuts furrows through the O
horizon of dead weeds and crop residue and the upper levels of A horizon
(topsoil); the device drops seeds into the furrow and closes the furrow over
the seeds; helps reduce erosion while increasing organic matter and soil
biota
Sources

 Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, AP Edition