Everything about erosion, a complete guide? Soil erosion is a complex process that depends on soil properties, ground slope, vegetation, and rainfall amount and intensity. According to Montgomery, modifications in land use are one of the most impactful ways of accelerating soil erosion. These changes then have a cascade effect as the loss of fertile topsoil cover sends millions of tons of sediments into lakes and reservoirs, changing ecosystems and impacting agricultural production and water quality. This has been the case with the Bo River in Vietnam. Despite these types of soil erosion, as we have briefly mentioned above, if it wasn’t for human activities, today’s soils would be less susceptible to erosion and more resilient. What are the human causes behind soil erosion then?
Rainwater also mixes with chemicals as it falls from the sky, forming an acidic concoction that dissolves rock. For example, acid rain dissolves limestone to form karst, a type of terrain filled with fissures, underground streams, and caves like the cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Back up on the mountains, snow and ice build up into glaciers that weigh on the rocks beneath and slowly push them downhill under the force of gravity. Together with advancing ice, the rocks carve out a path as the glacier slumps down the mountain. When the glacier begins to melt, it deposits its cargo of soil and rock, transporting the rocky debris toward the sea.
Glacial erosion occurs in two principal ways: through the abrasion of surface materials as the ice grinds over the ground (much of the abrasive action being attributable to the debris embedded in the ice along its base); and by the quarrying or plucking of rock from the glacier bed. The eroded material is transported until it is deposited or until the glacier melts. In some arid and desert tracts, wind has an important effect in bringing about the erosion of rocks by driving sand, and the surface of sand dunes not held together and protected by vegetation is subject to erosion and change by the drifting of blown sand. This action erodes material by deflation—the removal of small loose particles—and by sandblasting of landforms by wind-transported material. See even more information on what is erosion guide.
Local climate change scenarios will contribute to water erosion processes, mostly by rainfall erosivity increase. Different forest management models provide varying levels of soil protection by trees, resulting in distinct soil loss potential. Results confirm the suitability of the proposed approach to address soil erosion concerns in forest management planning. This approach may help foresters assess management models and the corresponding silvicultural practices according to the water-related services they provide.
Terracing is a method of carving multiple, flat leveled areas into hills. Steps are formed by the terraces which are surrounded by a mud wall to prevent runoff and hold the soil nutrients in the beds. More commonly found in lesser developed nations due to the difficulty of using mechanized farming equipment in the terraces. Very popular in Asia for planting rice. A more enhanced version of Contour Plowing, maximum water retention is achieved by taking into account all the watershed properties when making the contour lines. The Keyline refers to topographic features linked to water flow. This allows the water to run off to run directly into an existing water channel, and prevent soil erosion caused by the water.