Introduction
Soil erosion is a process in which the topsoil of a field wears away as a result of natural physical forces of wind, water and other forces that result from activities such as farm tillage. Soil erosion weakens soil fertility, which results in decreased crop yield. Water conservation is the application agronomical practices such as contour cultivation, crop rotation, and mulch farming to check soil erosion, which in turn aids in conserving water in the soil. This paper is going to provide an in-depth description of aspects of soil erosion as well as techniques to conserve water and soil for better soil fertility and crop yield.
Soil conservation
Soil conservation is the combination of the appropriate land use and management practices
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Water and the wind result in soil erosion that is usually very dominant and is regarded as noticeable. Chemical or geological erosion is normally a slow process that can take place continuously for many years and is often regarded non-noticeable. There is a further subdivision of water erosion, which is according to the effects of water erosion. These include sheet erosion, and gully erosion. …show more content…
Below are the major outcomes that result from soil erosion from different agents.
• Problems in crop irrigation and the resulting need of conserving water.
• Soils eroded by water get sediment on riverbeds, which raise the level of riverbeds that blocks the water thus flooding. There are extreme effects that are accumulated from flooding which include demolishing buildings and killing animals and humans.
• The moisture supply to the soil is reduced by soil erosion which then affecting the activities of microorganisms of the soil thus diminishing the production yields.
• Soil erosion results in the loss of the top layer of soil that contains the nutrients and organic matter thus affecting the structure of the soil and reducing soil fertility.
• There is reduced capacity for soil to store water and nutrients as a result of wind erosion which results in a dry environment. [3]
Methods of soil and water
The European settlers who first arrived at the Great Plains found hardy grasslands that held the fine-grained soil in place in spite of the long recurrent droughts and occasional torrential rains. A large number of the travelers settled down in this area and built farms and ranches. These land uses led to soil exposure and great erosion. The cattle ranches were very profitable for the settlers; unfortunately, this led to overgrazing and degradation of the soil. In addition, farmers began to plow the natural grass cover and plant their own crops. Without the original root systems of the grass to anchor the soil, much of it blew away. The wide row crops were very disastrous because between the crops, the land was kept bare; as a result, this area was exposed to the elements. Also, the nutrients in the soil were used up by the plants faster than they could be replaced. The soil had become exhausted.
How does the bare soil surface type affect the amount of runoff? Speculate why this happens.
There are many different ways that erosion is being caused. Some natural but most un-natural or man-made. The
Compaction is a densification of the soil which reduces its biological activity, permeability, porosity, and water holding capacity, while at the same time increasing the risk of erosion due to accelerated run-off (13). While some soils are naturally compacted, mechanical pressure (i.e. heavy machinery) can compact soil (13). Erosion is a natural process which is actually essential in the soil formation process, but human activities have accelerated it (7). During erosion soil particles of the fertile topsoil are removed either by wind or water (i.e. runoff), this process is irreversible and can lead to the reduction of soil productivity (7).
Soil erosion began with the dawn of agriculture, when people abandoned their hunter-gatherer lifestyles and began using the land for intensive agriculture, thus removing the protective vegetation cover and growing food crops on disturbed soil surfaces. For many civilizations, it is believed that surface wash erosion, that can occur unnoticed until it is too late, was a main contributing factor for their demise. Soil erosion and other degradative processes have destroyed, over the millennia, as much arable land as is now cultivated.
affects the ecosystem. The land's incline prevents some areas to receive and maintain a water
Soil erosion is a major issue for Australian agriculture and catchment management. The rate of soil production in Australia is very low, and in many areas it is greatly exceeded by the rate of soil loss. Erosion is widespread in Australia, especially the in the
Thinner soils that have fewer nutrients are more vulnerable to the effects of acid rain. Thicker soils are more affective at buffering acid rain. Over many years soils that aren’t the best at buffering out acid rain can become increasingly acidic. This leads to a decrease in the ability to support healthy plant life. Over time soils may become so acidic that aluminum dissolves and is carried by rain water into bodies of water. Aluminum that is dissolved is very toxic and harmful to all aquatic life.
Soil erodibility is an estimate of the ability of the soil to resist erosion based on the physical characteristics. Generally, soils with faster infiltration rates, high levels of organic matter and improved structure have a greater resistance to erosion. Sand, sandy loam, and loam textured soils tend to be less erodible to than silt, very fine sand, and clay textured soils. Sediments with high sand or silt contents and areas with steep slopes erode more easily. Similarly, this also applies to highly fractured or weathered rocks (Frankl, Deckers, Moulaert,Van Damme, Haile, Poesen, & Nyssen, 2014). Below is a law on soil erosion.
Erosions happen due to the rain and the wind parts of the ground get washed or blown because of the nutrient-rich topsoil to cast away leaving the earth that cannot be used to do farming. And won’t have water to water it. Warmer air encourages more from the surface which helps to further dry climate. Because the sub-tropical high pressure is low and it is very dry the air, dropped most of its moisture in the form of rain over the
Grazing: Helps the soil by increasing the soil density and promoting plant variety and it also benefits the livestock at the same time.
Saline soil is also vulnerable to erosion due to the death of vegetation that held the soil together. Soil that is eroded can ‘pollute’ water too.
home farm. Reducing soil erosion is one of the most important practices on my home farm.
When done right, this method reduce erosion by more than 50%. With reduced loss of fertility comes the reduced use of fertilizer and a reduced cost of purchasing fertilizers. In most cases, rainwater washes farming fertilizers downstream and consequently contaminating fresh water systems. Secondly, contour ploughing increases the soil’s water retention ability to ensure that enough water soaks in the soil for good health of the plants. Furthermore, water retention improves soil quality, irrigation, and water conservation thus reducing labor that would have gone into physical fetching of water. Other benefits are and time efficiency and reduced use of machines which in turn reduce the wear and tear. In summary, the method tends to promote sustainable agriculture and reduce most of the ills associated with soil erosion on slopes such as habitat
Agriculture is the major farming activity. Agriculture's scale means not only that large area is directly affected, but that local and even regional climates can be affected. The draining of water from rivers and watersheds for irrigation leads to drier natural habitats. Those rivers that receive runoff from farmland are often poisoned by excessive nutrients and pesticides.