It is known as soil erosion to the process that occurs naturally when the rocks and the ground are detached from the earth’s surface moving to another site, especially by the action of water and wind. Soil erosion is what causes changes in landscapes, a process that can be very slow, of thousands of years, or that can be accelerated through human activities such as mining or agriculture.
Do you want to know everything about this phenomenon? Do you want us to explain you What is the erosion of the soil, its causes and consequences And some of the best examples to understand it? Keep reading this green ecology article!
Soil erosion: Singified
It is known as Erosion to soil degradation land through the Natural factors actionsuch as wind or water, and by the man’s action. It occurs throughout the world, however, in dry or arid areas, in which there is not so much vegetation and the soil is much more exposed, it is much faster. Erosion is one of the main actors in the molding and modification of Earth shape.
Erosion consists in the mobilization of the rocks, or their pieces, sand or dust from some sites to another, either by the wind, the severity itself, or the water. For example, rivers transport mountain sediments, whether small pieces of rocks, sand or dust. During their course they are dragging them and finally deposit them elsewhere, changing the landscape’s physiognomy.
Causes of soil erosion
The causes that cause soil erosion can be many and very varied. Some are natural, such as droughts, wind or water action, on the other hand, others are the result of the action of man, such as deforestation, mining or agriculture. Here are some of the main Causes of soil erosion:
- Water erosion: It is the erosion caused by the movement of water, in its multiple forms: the rain that breaks the earth, the currents of the rivers, the hit of the rain, the drag or the waves hitting the ground.
- Wind erosion: The type of erosion caused by the wind, which takes sand, dust or ashes from one place to another. Likewise, the blow of the wind in the rock is wearing it, shaping its shape.
- Chemical erosion: Also known as chemical weathering, it is the decomposition and changes in the structure of the rock due to the alterations that occur in oxygen, water or carbon dioxide.
- Temperature erosion: It is the one that occurs with processes such as cold, heat or sunlight in the rocks and the ground. They are basically those that depend on temperature and weather. When temperatures are high, the rocks expand and end up cracking, the same happens when the rocks freeze and defrost.
- Gravitational erosion: the one that occurs as a consequence of the action of gravity. Mainly makes the rocks and stones fall down, being in the lowest areas of the slopes.
Among those that are the product of the man’s actionthe main causes of erosion are:
- Deforestation.
- Intentive agriculture.
- Intensive grazing.
- Artificial irrigation.
Consequences of soil deterioration
It is not difficult to think about the consequences of soil erosion, when the soil is deteriorated, this concrete ecosystem is also deteriorated, losing the ecological balance. This causes a reduction of both fauna and flora, gradually, the fertility of those land is lost. In case it is grown there, it will be increasingly difficult and expensive and, if it is a grazing place, that task will be complicated. This is the list of Consequences of soil erosion and its deterioration:
- The ecosystem is unbalanced, losing many of its endemic species and favoring the growth of opportunistic species.
- The land is becoming less fertile, which increases the use of fertilizers by farmers. In the end, this ends with a totally useless land for cultivation.
- Loss of flora and disappearance of species.
- Loss of moisture contributed by the flora.
- Creation of grave and sand in what were fertile lands.
- Greater risk of rock detachments.
- Loss of land performance and increase the cost of cultivating it.
- In livestock, the costs of maintaining and feeding animals increase, since pastures disappear.
- The impoverishment of rural populations causes the population to move to cities.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is soil erosion: causes and consequenceswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.
