What is Soil Erosion?
When the soil form the upper layer of the soil is soft and very light, which is very easily displaced from one place to another with air and water.
The process of moving topsoil from one place to another by water or wind is called Soil Erosion.
Where the soil is not covered with trees and plants, the possibility of soil erosion increases.
Soil erosion by water is more in hills and areas of heavy rainfall.
Soil erosion by wind mainly occurs in dry/desert areas.
Causes of Soil Erosion
There are many reasons for soil erosion, some of which are as follows -
- Large scale felling of trees.
- Overgrazing by animals in forests.
- Cutting of forests to make agriculture or building on the available land.
- Due to leaving the land uncultivated for too long.
The above reasons show that there are many reasons for soil erosion.
What is Soil Conservation?
Soil is a very valuable natural asset. It helps in maintaining life on earth. Therefore it is essential to preserve it.
The process of protecting the soil from any destructive process and soil erosion is called soil conservation.
Following are the main methods of soil conservation-
By planting more trees or grass
- The roots of trees and plants bind the soil to prevent erosion. The grass covers the bare soil and thus prevents soil erosion due to strong wind or heavy rains.
- Tall trees act as a screen for the wind and stop the process of soil erosion by reducing the wind speed.
- Plantation is the planting of plants and trees on a large scale in place of damaged or dead trees and forests.
Terraced cultivation
- In hilly areas, step farming prevents the process of soil erosion by reducing the speed of water flow.
By constructing dams and river-ties
- Soil erosion can also be stopped by making dams on the river-banks with big stones because the flowing water does not come in contiguous with the soil. Dams prevent the free flow of water and slow down the process of soil erosion to a large extent.
By reducing overgrazing
- Excessive grazing by animals reduces the green cover of the land. Therefore, the green cover of the land can be preserved by stopping excessive grazing, as a result of which there will be no soil erosion and the soil will be preserved.
Soil conservation can be done by stopping soil erosion by adopting the following methods.
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