For more than 10,000 years, the human being has interacted with nature for different purposes to develop its main activities (food, housing, leisure). These interactions sometimes cause negative effects on nature, as is the case of erosion suffered by the soils of the areas that the human being has been modifying and adapting to their interests.
From Ecology Verde, we have proposed to investigate a bit in the phenomenon of anthropic erosion, something that is due only and exclusively for the effects that the human being causes on soils in different parts of the world. Keep reading and discover What is anthropic erosion with examples and more related aspects.
What is anthropic erosion
The anthropic erosionor erosion Man caused by manconsists of the Loss and/or alteration of the surface layer of soilsas a result of different actions that the human being develops on the ground. This erosion phenomenon is also known as Artificial erosionin contrast to that known as natural erosion, in which natural elements such as water and wind cause erosion of the earth or soil.
This natural process of soil erosion is linked to the dynamics of evolution of the planet. In it, the combined action of water (water erosion, either due to the rain or by the action of the rivers) and of the wind (wind erosion) drag and give off particles of the soil and humus surface (high part of the soil where the organic remains are broken down, thanks to the action of organisms and decomposing microorganisms: fungi and bacteria).
In this article we will focus only on anthropic erosion, to better understand how Human beings erodes the ground through different actions that we perform in our day to day.
Apart, we tell you more about what is the erosion of the soil, its causes and consequences in this other ecology article.
Examples of anthropic erosion and its effects
We can classify two main types by which we produce anthropic erosion. These are the examples of anthropic erosion according to its type.
On the one hand, construction erosion (cities, communication routes, industrial infrastructure, etc.) appears. On the other hand, anthropic exploitation erosion, through deforestation, different intensive agriculture techniques, excessive grazing and mines.
These human practices expose the soil to erosion to a greater or lesser extent, having as a trigger factor of such erosion the loss of natural vegetation coverage and the high layers of the soils. Let’s see in more detail some examples of these anthropic practices to better understand how such erosion occurs.
Example of anthropic construction erosion
As for the constructions that we do more and more frequently to cover our demographic needs, it will always be useful and positive to carry out studies of Environmental Risk Impact before starting any construction in soils that still remained without any anthropic action. For those who already suffered the action of man, follow -up studies will avoid possible soil erosions and their consequences.
Know here what is an environmental risk and examples.
Example of anthropic exploitation erosion
Now focusing on anthropic exploitation erosion, it should be noted that since the beginning of the development of human culture, the main negative impacts of the Agricultural Revolution They were reflected in soil erosion. The first civilizations grew from small settlements based on places that offered favorable environmental conditions, such as soil fertility and water availability. As the peoples learned to modify these environmental conditions, the damages caused were increasing.
In this way, due to soil overexploitation For crops in different parts of the world, the earth became extremely weak, detaching as a result of rains and thaws, and causing the subsequent uselessness of the earth.
In this other post we tell you what is the overexploitation of natural resources, their causes and consequences.
Conclusion on anthropic erosion or produced by humans
We understand for all this that the soil erosion It is an ancient, inevitable phenomenon and which has increased over the years. Although at the beginning, the impact caused by human actions was not barely appreciable, at present, a civilized human settlement is not conceived without a certain degree of soil erosion.
Therefore, it is important to highlight the idea that Anthropic erosion It could not be eradicated, but only It can be controlled. As we have seen before, anthropic erosion is completely linked to the cultural and social development of the human being, so, taking into account that any action and decision we make in the present we do it with a vision of a future development, we must always consider that the impacts on nature (in this case, specifically on the ground), are the least negative and harmful possible.
If you want to read more articles similar to Anthropic erosion: what is and exampleswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.
