Different Types Of Soil Erosion

The main natural agents of soil erosion are water currents and wind storms, yet human activities may also aggravate the situation.

FREMONT, CA: The classification is based on the speed of the erosive process or its cause (agent). Therefore, different types of soil erosion fall into hastened or gradual, anthropogenic or natural. The main natural agents of soil erosion are water currents and wind storms, yet human activities may also aggravate the situation.

Water Erosion

As the name indicates, this soil erosion type is caused by water and implies topsoil extraction after rainfall, snowmelt, floods, or badly managed irrigation. Hence, it can occur both because of weather extremities or farming activities. In bare terrains and under heavy rainfall or melting, ruination by water happens faster.

Wind Erosion

Another erosion-inducing factor is dust storms ruining the topsoil. Dust storms have been a common phenomenon in the last decades, particularly in arid places. Erodibility rises if the earth is even, fine, and dry. Contrarily, ridges decrease wind energy, and rough, heavy particles are more difficult to be removed.

Anthropogenic Soil Erosion

This typically occurs due to anthropogenic factors, and human activities can induce soil erosion directly and indirectly. For instance, a direct impact comes from mining and quarrying. Indirect issues follow unsustainable management, disturbing the topsoil and increasing the erodibility of fields and forest stands.

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Effects Of Soil Erosion On Agriculture

Erosion progresses diversely in individual fields, and the time it takes is also different. Farm erosive processes may run slowly but can be speeded up by weather or field treatment events. Especially field salinization or compaction due to heavy machinery movement or overgrazing worsens water infiltration and encourages erosion.

Over time, eroded farmlands deteriorate and become unsuitable for agricultural activities. It happens because of such negative effects of soil erosion as erosion of topsoil, planting material, water pollution, field acidification, etc.

Losses Of Topsoil

Topsoil is the affluent earth’s layer with organic material and nutrients, so its removal by water or wind essentially worsens field fertility, a critical effect of soil erosion on agricultural land. Besides, rills or gullies considerably perplex the cultivation of eroded lands.

Soil Acidification

A deficit of organic matter may increase field acidity, slowing crop development and exposing farmlands to water and wind.

Losses In Planting Material

Water streams or dust storms take seeds from the fields and destroy seedlings, resulting in crop losses and decreasing farmers’ profits.

Water Pollution

Other soil erosion problems are sedimentation and contamination of water bodies with chemical materials from the fields, which, in turn, ruins irrigation water quality.