Soil Erosion is one form of soil degradation. It occurs in almost all types of lands. Flowing water, rainwater, and the wind are the prime agents which cause a significant amount of soil loss each year. Too much of soil erosion causes serious loss of topsoil and also reduces crop production potential, lower surface water quality, and damaged drainage networks.
Causes of soil erosion:
- Due to human activities like deforestation, overgrazing, construction and mining, etc.
- Natural forces like wind, glacier and water leads to soil erosion.
- The running water cuts through clayey soils and makes deep channels as ‘gullies’. The land becomes unfit for cultivation, this process is called gully erosion and the land is called bad land or ravines in the Chambal basin.
- Sometimes, water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope. It leads to the washing away of the top soil. This process is called sheet erosion.
- Wind blows loose soil *** flat or sloping land, and is called wind erosion.
- Soil erosion is also caused due to defective methods of farming.
