Soil Erosion Is a Silent Killer of the Land

Soil Erosion is a silent killer of the land

Soil erosion is when soil and humus particles are picked up and carried away by wind. Soil erosion causes many issues to occur on land that affects vegetation, wildlife, and the ecosystem. Soil erosion occurs anytime land is bared and exposed. Stress is added to the soil from storms and other weather conditions that are critical for our land. There are so much that happens to the ground on a daily basis that we have no clue of. It is very crucial for us to pay attention to the things that are harmful to our survival and erosion plays a big role in how we survive because it is affecting our soil and we need soil to grow plants, food, and trees. It all comes back to the circle of life.

There are several types of erosion that is affecting soil in various ways. Research shows how just about everything we do, can cause some form of erosion to our soil. Erosion involves three distinct actions which are soil detachment, movement, and deposition. Soil erosion in agriculture is referred to as the wearing a way of a fields topsoil by natural forces of water and wind and through forces associated with farming activities such as tillage.

Topsoil is high in organic matter, fertility, and soil life is relocated by water, wind or tillage where it is built up or is carried offsite where it fills water drainage channels. These different types of erosion are called splash erosion which is when raindrops break up the clumpy structure of topsoil. The negative of splash erosion is that it causes dislodged particles to clod pores and decrease infiltration and aeration. Sheet erosion is the result of decreased infiltration that carries away fine particles and gully erosion, this happens when water joins into rivulet and streams where water greater volume, velocity, and energy remove soil. Erosion can turn into a very serious cycle once it is started because it is a never ending cycle.

Soil erosion reduces cropland productivity and contributes to the pollution of adjacent watercourses, wetlands, and lakes. The negative of erosion appears to be an unstoppable series of epidemics that goes and grows if not prevented or minimized.

The three major causes of erosion is overgrazing, over-cultivating, and deforestation.

Overgrazing is the practice of grazing to many livestock for too long a period on land unable to recover its vegetation, or graving ruminants on land not suitable for graving