Soil Erosion- Definition. Erosion rates vary significantly depending on a site’s slope, the inherent erodibility or prior compaction of the soil, as well as the extent and condition of vegetation and antecedent moisture conditions. Degraded soil means less food. In a first of its kind effort, researchers from all over the world have quantified soil erosion due to rainfall collecting data from 63 countries to prepare a ‘rainfall erosivity’ map of the world. Rain, rivers, floods, lakes, … This is a serious problem for farmers.If the soil has eroded, the crops that make food will not grow very well.. INTRODUCTION Erosion is a natural land forming process that is accelerated through human activities. It has an adverse effect on water and air and, of course, on the soil itself. Various Causes of ErosionWater. Water is a liquid drank by humans, animals, and plants. ...Wind. Wind is the movement of air, in most cases with significant force. ...Ice. Ice forms during periods when temperatures considerably drop, resulting in the pile-up of snow and ice.Gravity. This is the force of attraction between two objects. ...Waves. ... “Soil erosion is the natural process in which the topsoil of a field is carried away by physical sources such as wind and water.” What is Soil Erosion? And degraded lands are also often less able to hold onto water, which can worsen flooding. As a natural process, soil degradation can be enhanced or dampened by a variety of human activities such as inappropriate agricultural management, overgrazing, deforestation, etc. A study of 82 sites in 21 counties by Iowa State University showed that in the 50 years from 1959, soil structure and levels of organic matter had degraded while acidity had increased. Soil is one of the principal substrata of life on Earth, serving as a reservoir of water and nutrients, as a medium for the filtration and breakdown of injurious wastes, and as a participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements through the global ecosystem. Yield reduction in Africa (Lal, 1995) due to past soil erosion may range from 2 to 40%, with a mean loss of 8.2% for the continent. Now let’s look at soil erosion, where we have a major new study in PNAS, “Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070),” published on September 8. As global sea level rises, the action of waves at higher elevations increases the likelihood for extensive coastal erosion. Abrasion refers to wearing of the surface by particles carried around by wind hence making the soil susceptible to washing away.. Mass Movement . Soil erosion is the process of removing soil materials from their original sites by water or wind. … A JRC-led article published in Science Advances estimates that accelerated soil erosion will lead to additional carbon losses from agricultural land to the atmosphere, thus increasing the effect of climate change. Soil erosion is the washing or blowing away (by water or wind) of the top layer of soil (dirt). Soil erosion is a continuous process of development and transport of the upper layer of soil (topsoil) by diverse agents – especially water, wind, and mass development – causing its deterioration in the long term. erosion rates. Liquid water is the major agent of erosion on Earth. Figure from Panagos et … During dry weather winds can carry loose soil across the countryside. Hard rains that wash across bare soil move Iowa’s black gold into gullies and streams. The Orinoco Basin extends across Veneuela and Colombia. 10 Main Causes Of Soil Erosion Water runoff and rainfall intensity. This process begins when the raindrops break down the soil making it vulnerable to movement. ... The slope of the land. The topography of the land may also be a cause of soil erosion. ... Soil texture. ... Deforestation. ... Wind. ... Land tillage. ... Overgrazing. ... Harsh climatic conditions. ... Erodibility of soil. ... More items... Soil erosion is the process by which the topsoil is removed. Soil erosion is a global problem that threatens food security and the functioning of ecosystems. Both the 2012 and 2001 datasets are provided. organic outer layer of soil are removed. In this process, the soil particles are loosened or washed away in the valleys, oceans, rivers, streams or far away lands. The process of erosion usually takes place on the surface of soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth’s crust and with the help of the wind or water flow, it gets to settle down at another location. Soil & Erosion: Definition, Types, Causes & Prevention ... Competition in the Global Business Environment; First, an overview on erosion (footnotes omitted): Water, wind, glaciers, and gravity all can change the land through the processes of erosion. Globally, soil erosion, chemical deterioration and physical degradation are the important parts amongst various types of soil degradation. • Professional soil conservation research emerged in the late 18th century CE. The process of soil erosion is both natural and man-made. The pollutant load associated with land erosion is dependent on the Gully and rill erosion occurs as runoff becomes concentrated enough to remove and transport larger amounts of soil. Global overview about soil erosion since the beginning of agriculture • Collection of citations and figures from less well-known essays and reports • Historical descriptions cover a period of 2500 years. This is geological erosion. T value = Tolerable erosion equilibrium between soil gains and losses.” continuous cropping and maintain soil productivity without requiring additional management inputs.” • T ranges from: 1-5 t/ac/yr < 25 cm = 2.2 t/ha/yr > 152 cm = 11.2 t/ha/yr “Maximum soil erosion loss that is offset by the theoretical Mass movement refers to the movement downwardly due to the gravity of the soil. Soil erosion by water is one of the most widespread forms of soil degradation in Europe. Soil erosion is one of the ten major soil threats, identified in the Status of the World's Soil Resources Report . The river's delta is covered with tropical rain forest. An Assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion Human activity and related land use change are the primary cause of accelerated soil erosion, which has substantial implications for nutrient and carbon cycling, land productivity and … The soil erosion discussion is summed up with a definition of soil erosion. The type, extent, degree, rate and main causes of degradation were displayed on a global map, at an average scale of 1:10 million (Mercator projection), and documented in a … Global soil erosion map to help save soil. It has an adverse effect on water and air and, of course, on the soil itself. Few attempts have been made to assess the global economic impact of erosion. erosion may contribute about 67 billion metric tons of sediment. The global mean value of this calculated erosivity index is 2.100, with higher values showing more intense erosion. In the susceptible drylands, which are the areas most prone to desertification, water erosion could yield about 92 Metric tons, which are about 71% of the total global soil loss. Soil erosion is a global problem that threatens food security and the functioning of ecosystems. Soils play an important role in balancing the climate. Raindrops hit exposed soil with great energy and easily dislodge the soil particles from the surface. It is a physical process that detaches and transports materials on earth through soil mass decomposition to single particles through erosion forces such as water flow and wind. It refers to The productivity of some lands in Africa (Dregne, 1990) has declined by 50% as a result of soil erosion and desertification. It is defined as the accelerated removal of topsoil from the land surface through water, wind and tillage. Soil erosion is a natural process which has increasingly been exacerbated by human activities such as agriculture and deforestation. This is indeed the most visible effect of soil degradation, but does not cover all of its aspects. It has led to increased pollution and sedimentation in streams and rivers, clogging these waterways and causing declines in fish and other species. The status of soil degradation was mapped within loosely defined physiographic units (polygons), based on expert judgement. The JRC is currently involved in the development of the global soil erosion map (Borrelli, Robinson, Lugato, Ballabio, Montanarella, Panagos et al., Nature Communications, 2017). It has an adverse effect on water and air and, of course, on the soil itself. If the erosion processes remove top-soil only as rapidly as top-soils formed from the parent material beneath, no harm results. Rainfall, and the surface runoff which may result from rainfall, produces four main types of soil erosion: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion, and gully erosion. Splash erosion is generally seen as the first and least severe stage in the soil erosion process, which is followed by sheet erosion, then rill erosion a… Soil erosion, displacement of soil from the place of its formation by causative agents (e.g., raindrop, runoff, wind, gravity, etc.) It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. and its deposition at a depressional and/or protected site, is a natural geologic phenomenon. According to a scholarly article published by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the potential for significant erosion on heavily disturbed construction sites is up to 100 times greater than on agricultural land.