Soil erosion - Wikipedia

Soil erosion - Wikipedia
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Displacement of soil by water, wind, and lifeforms
An actively eroding
rill
on an
intensively-farmed
field in
eastern
Germany
Soil erosion
Soil erosion
is the
denudation
or wearing away of the
upper layer
of
soil
. It is a form of
soil degradation
. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is,
water
(e.g.
landslide
flooding
),
ice
(e.g.
glaciers
),
snow
(e.g.
avalanches
, snow gliding),
air
(e.g.
wind
),
plants
(e.g.
tree uprooting
), and
animals
(including
humans
). In accordance with these agents, erosion is sometimes divided into
water erosion
glacial erosion
, snow erosion,
wind (aeolian) erosion
, zoogenic erosion and anthropogenic erosion such as
tillage erosion
Soil erosion may be a slow process that continues relatively unnoticed, or it may occur at an alarming rate causing a serious loss of
topsoil
The loss of soil from
farmland
may be reflected in reduced
cropland
area and production potential,
lower surface
water quality
and damaged drainage networks.
Soil erosion could also cause
sinkholes
and soil pipes that can further develop into
rills
and
gullies
Human activities have increased by ca. 28 times the rate at which erosion is naturally occurring world-wide.
Excessive (or accelerated) erosion causes both "on-site" and "off-site" problems. On-site impacts include decreases in
agricultural productivity
and (on
natural landscapes
ecological collapse
both because of loss of the nutrient-rich upper
soil layers
In some cases, the eventual result is
desertification
10
Off-site effects include
sedimentation of waterways
11
and
eutrophication
of water bodies,
as well as sediment-related damage to roads and houses.
12
Water and
wind erosion
are the two primary causes of
land degradation
; combined, they are responsible for about 84% of the global extent of degraded land, making excessive erosion one of the most significant
environmental problems
worldwide.
13
14
15
Intensive agriculture
16
deforestation
17
roads
18
acid rains
19
anthropogenic
climate change
20
and
urban sprawl
21
are amongst the most significant human activities in regard to their effect on stimulating erosion.
22
However, there are many
prevention and remediation
practices that can curtail or limit erosion of vulnerable soils.
23
Physical processes
edit
Rainfall and surface runoff
edit
Soil
and water being
splashed
by the impact of a single
raindrop
If
the soil is saturated
, or if the rainfall rate is
greater than the rate at which water can infiltrate
into the soil,
surface runoff
occurs. If the runoff has sufficient
flow energy
, it will
transport
loosened soil particles (
sediment
) down the slope.
24
Rainfall
, and the
surface runoff
which may result from rainfall, produce four main types of soil erosion:
splash erosion
sheet erosion
rill erosion
, and
gully erosion
. Splash erosion is generally seen as the first and least severe stage in the soil erosion process, which is followed by
sheet erosion
, then rill erosion and finally gully erosion (the most severe of the four).
25
26
In
splash erosion
, the
impact of a falling raindrop
creates a small crater in the soil,
27
ejecting soil particles.
28
The distance the ejected soil particles travel can be as much as 0.6 m (two feet) vertically and 1.5 m (five feet) horizontally on level ground and in the absence of wind.
29
Sheet erosion
is the transport of loosened soil particles by overland flow.
24
spoil tip
covered in
rills
and
gullies
due to erosion processes caused by rainfall:
Rummu
Estonia
Rill
erosion
refers to the development of small,
ephemeral
concentrated flow paths which function as both
sediment
sources and
sediment
delivery systems for erosion on hillslopes. Generally, where water erosion rates on disturbed upland areas are greatest,
rills
are active. Flow depths in rills are typically of the order of a few centimeters (about an inch) or less and along-channel slopes may be quite steep. This means that rills exhibit
hydraulic
physics very different from
water flowing
through the deeper wider channels of
streams
and
rivers
30
Gully erosion
occurs when
runoff
water accumulates and rapidly flows in narrow channels during or immediately after heavy rains or melting snow, removing soil to a considerable depth.
31
32
33
Another cause of
gully
erosion is
grazing
34
which often results in ground compaction.
35
Because the soil is exposed, it loses the ability to absorb excess water, and erosion can develop in susceptible areas.
36
Rivers and streams
edit
Further information on water's erosive ability:
Hydraulic action
Dobbingstone Burn, Scotland—This photo illustrates two different types of erosion affecting the same place. Valley erosion is occurring due to the flow of the stream, and the boulders and stones (and much of the soil) that are lying on the edges are
glacial till
that was left behind as
ice age
glaciers flowed over the terrain.
Valley
or
stream erosion
occurs with continued
water flow
along a linear feature. The erosion is both
downward
, deepening the
valley
, and
headward
, extending the valley into the hillside, creating
head cuts
and steep banks. In the earliest stage of
stream
erosion, the erosive activity is dominantly vertical, the valleys have a typical
cross-section and the stream gradient is relatively steep.
37
When some
base level
is reached, the erosive activity switches to lateral erosion, which widens the valley floor and creates a narrow
floodplain
. The stream gradient becomes nearly flat, and lateral deposition of
sediments
becomes important as the stream
meanders
across the valley floor. In all stages of stream erosion, by far the most erosion occurs during times of
flood
, when more and faster-moving water is available to carry a larger
sediment load
38
In such processes, it is not the water alone that erodes: suspended
abrasive
particles,
pebbles
and
boulders
can also act erosively as they traverse a
surface
, in a process known as
traction
39
Bank erosion
is the wearing away of the banks of a
stream
or
river
. This is distinguished from changes on the bed of the
watercourse
, which is referred to as
scour
. Erosion and
changes in the form of river banks
may be measured by inserting metal rods into the bank and marking the position of the bank surface along the rods at different times.
40
Thermal erosion
is the result of
melting
and weakening
permafrost
due to moving water.
41
It can occur both along rivers and at the coast. Rapid
river channel migration
observed in the
Lena River
of
Siberia
is due to
thermal erosion
, as these portions of the banks are composed of permafrost-cemented non-cohesive materials.
42
Much of this erosion occurs as the weakened banks fail in large
slumps
43
Thermal erosion also affects the
Arctic
coast, where wave action and near-shore temperatures combine to undercut permafrost
bluffs
along the
shoreline
and cause them to fail. Annual erosion rates along a 100-kilometre (62-mile) segment of the Beaufort Sea shoreline averaged 5.6 metres (18 feet) per year from 1955 to 2002.
44
Floods
edit
At extremely high flows,
kolks
, or
vortices
are formed by large volumes of rapidly rushing water. Kolks cause extreme local erosion, plucking
bedrock
and creating
pothole
-type geographical features called
rock-cut basins
. Examples can be seen in the
flood
regions result from glacial
Lake Missoula
, which created the
channeled scablands
in the
Columbia Basin
region of eastern
Washington
45
Wind erosion
edit
Árbol de Piedra
, a rock formation in the
Altiplano
Bolivia
, sculpted by wind erosion
Main article:
Aeolian processes
Wind erosion is a major
geomorphological
force, especially in
arid
and
semi-arid
regions. It is also a major source of land degradation, evaporation, desertification, harmful airborne dust, and crop damage—especially after being increased far above natural rates by human activities such as
deforestation
urbanization
, and
agriculture
46
47
Wind erosion is of two primary varieties:
deflation
, where the wind picks up and carries away loose particles; and
abrasion
, where surfaces are worn down as they are struck by airborne particles carried by wind. Deflation is divided into three categories: (1)
surface creep
, where larger, heavier particles slide or roll along the ground; (2)
saltation
, where particles are lifted a short height into the air, and bounce and saltate across the surface of the soil; and (3)
suspension
, where very small and light particles are lifted into the air by the wind, and are often carried for long distances (e.g.
Saharan dust
). Saltation is responsible for the majority (50–70%) of wind erosion, followed by suspension (30–40%), and then surface creep (5–25%).
48
49
Silty
soils (e.g.
loess
) tend to be the most affected by wind erosion; silt particles are relatively easily detached and carried away.
50
Wind erosion is much more severe in arid areas and during times of drought. For example, in the
Great Plains
, it is estimated that soil loss due to wind erosion can be as much as 6100 times greater in drought years than in wet years.
51
Mass movement
edit
Wadi in Makhtesh Ramon, Israel, showing gravity collapse erosion on its banks
Mass movement
is the downward and outward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface, mainly due to the force of
gravity
52
53
Mass movement is an important part of the erosional process, and is often the first stage in the breakdown and transport of
weathered
materials in mountainous areas.
54
It moves material from higher elevations to lower elevations where other eroding agents such as
streams
and
glaciers
can then pick up the material and move it to even lower elevations. Mass-movement processes are always occurring continuously on all slopes; some mass-movement processes act very slowly; others occur very suddenly, often with disastrous results. Any perceptible
downslope
movement of rock or sediment is often referred to in general terms as a
landslide
. However, landslides can be classified in a much more detailed way that reflects the mechanisms responsible for the movement and the velocity at which the movement occurs. One of the visible topographical manifestations of a very slow form of such activity is a
scree
slope.
55
Slumping
happens on steep hillsides, occurring along distinct
fracture
zones, often within materials like
clay
that, once released, may move quite rapidly downhill. They will often show a spoon-shaped
isostatic depression
, in which the material has begun to slide downhill. In some cases, the slump is caused by water beneath the slope weakening it. In many cases it is simply the result of poor engineering along
highways
where it is a regular occurrence.
56
Surface creep
is the slow movement of soil and rock debris by
gravity
which is usually not perceptible except through extended observation.
57
However, the term can also describe the rolling of dislodged soil particles 0.5 to 1.0 mm (0.02 to 0.04 in) in diameter by wind along the soil surface.
58
Tillage erosion
edit
Eroded hilltops due to tillage erosion
Tillage erosion
occurs in
cultivated fields
due to the movement of soil by
tillage
59
There is growing evidence that tillage erosion is a major soil erosion process in agricultural land, surpassing water and wind erosion in many fields all around the world, especially on sloping and hilly lands.
59
Eroded hilltops are actually caused by tillage erosion as water erosion mainly causes
soil losses
in the midslope and lowerslope segments of a slope, not the hilltops.
60
Tillage erosion results in
soil degradation
, which can lead to significant reduction in
crop yield
and, therefore, economic losses for the farm.
61
Tillage erosion in field with diversion terraces
Factors affecting soil erosion
edit
Climate
edit
The
amount
and
intensity
of
precipitation
is the main
climatic factor
governing
soil erosion by water. The
relationship
is particularly strong if heavy rainfall occurs at times when, or in locations where, the soil's surface is not well protected by
vegetation
. This might be during periods when
agricultural activities
leave the soil bare,
62
or in
semi-arid
regions where vegetation is naturally sparse.
63
Wind erosion
requires strong winds, particularly during times of drought when vegetation is sparse and soil is dry (and so is more erodible).
64
Other climatic factors such as average
temperature
and temperature range may also affect erosion, via their effects on
vegetation
and soil properties.
65
In general, given similar vegetation and
ecosystems
, areas with more
precipitation
(especially high-intensity
rainfall
), more wind, or more
storms
are expected to have more erosion.
66
In some areas of the world (e.g. the
Midwestern United States
and the
Amazon Rainforest
), rainfall intensity is the primary determinant of erosivity, with higher intensity rainfall generally resulting in more soil erosion by water.
67
68
The size and velocity of
rain drops
is also an important factor. Larger and higher-velocity rain drops have greater
kinetic energy
, and thus their impact will displace soil particles by larger distances than smaller, slower-moving rain drops.
69
In other regions of the world (e.g.
western Europe
),
runoff
and erosion result from relatively low intensities of
stratiform rainfall
falling onto previously saturated soil. In such situations, rainfall amount rather than intensity is the main factor determining the severity of soil erosion by water.
70
Soil structure and composition
edit
Erosional gully in unconsolidated
Dead Sea
(Israel) sediments along the southwestern shore. This gully was excavated by floods from the
Judean Mountains
in less than a year.
The
texture
moisture
, and
compaction
of soil are all major factors in determining the erosivity of rainfall. Sediments containing more
clay minerals
tend to be more resistant to erosion than those with
sand
or
silt
, because the clay helps bind soil particles together.
71
Soil containing high levels of
organic matter
are often more resistant to erosion, because the organic materials coagulate
soil colloids
and create a stronger, more stable soil structure.
69
The amount of water present in the soil before the precipitation also plays an important role, because it sets limits on the amount of water that can be absorbed by the soil (and hence prevented from flowing on the surface as erosive
runoff
). Wet, saturated soils will not be able to absorb as much rainwater, leading to higher levels of surface runoff and thus higher erosivity for a given volume of rainfall.
69
72
Soil compaction
also affects the
permeability
of the soil to water, and hence the amount of water that flows away as runoff. More compacted soils will have a larger amount of surface runoff than less compacted soils.
69
Vegetative cover
edit
See also:
Vegetation and slope stability
Vegetation
acts as an interface between the
atmosphere
and the
soil
. It increases the
permeability
of the
soil
to
rainwater
, thus decreasing
runoff
73
It shelters the soil from
winds
, which results in decreased
wind erosion
74
as well as advantageous changes in
microclimate
75
The
roots
of the
plants
bind the
soil
together, and
interweave
with other roots, forming a more
solid
mass
that is less susceptible to both
water
76
and
wind erosion
77
The removal of
vegetation
increases the rate of
surface erosion
78
Topography
edit
The
topography
of the
land
determines the
velocity
at which
surface runoff
will flow, which in turn determines the
erosivity
of the runoff. Longer, steeper slopes (especially those without adequate vegetative cover) are more susceptible to very high rates of erosion during heavy rains than shorter, less steep slopes.
79
Steeper terrain is also more prone to
mudslides
landslides
, and other forms of
gravitational
erosion processes.
80
69
81
Human activities that aid soil erosion
edit
Agricultural practices
edit
See also:
agricultural pollution
and
overgrazing
Tilled farmland such as this is very susceptible to erosion from rainfall, due to the destruction of vegetative cover and the loosening of the soil during plowing.
Unsustainable
agricultural practices
increase rates of erosion by one to two
orders of magnitude
over the natural rate and far exceed replacement by soil production.
82
83
The
tillage
of
agricultural lands
, which breaks up soil into finer particles, is one of the primary factors. The problem has been exacerbated in modern times, due to mechanized agricultural equipment that allows for
deep plowing
, which severely increases the amount of soil that is available for transport by water erosion. Others include
monocropping
, farming on steep slopes,
pesticide
and
chemical fertilizer
usage (which kill
organisms
that bind soil together), row-cropping, and the use of
surface irrigation
84
85
A complex overall situation with respect to defining nutrient losses from soils, could arise as a result of the size selective nature of soil erosion events.
86
Loss of total
phosphorus
, for instance, in the finer eroded fraction is greater relative to the whole soil.
87
Extrapolating this evidence to predict subsequent behaviour within receiving aquatic systems, the reason is that this more easily transported material may support a lower solution P concentration compared to coarser sized fractions.
88
Tillage also increases wind erosion rates, by dehydrating the soil and breaking it up into smaller particles that can be picked up by the wind.
89
Exacerbating this is the fact that most of the trees are generally removed from agricultural fields, allowing winds to have long, open runs to travel over at higher speeds.
90
Heavy
grazing
reduces
vegetative cover
and causes severe
soil compaction
, both of which increase erosion rates.
91
Deforestation
edit
In this
clearcut
, almost all of the vegetation has been stripped from the surface of steep slopes, in an area with very heavy rains. Severe erosion occurs in cases such as this, causing stream
sedimentation
and the loss of nutrient-rich
topsoil
In an undisturbed
forest
, the mineral soil is protected by a layer of
leaf litter
and
humus
that covers the
forest floor
. These two layers form a protective mat over the soil that absorbs the impact of rain drops. They are
porous
and highly
permeable
to rainfall, and allow rainwater to slow
percolate
into the soil below, instead of flowing over the surface as
runoff
92
The
roots
of trees and forest plants and the
mycelia
of forest
fungi
also play a major role in binding soil particles together, preventing them from being washed away.
93
94
The vegetative cover acts to reduce the
velocity
of the
raindrops
that strike the foliage and stems before hitting the ground, reducing their
kinetic energy
. However it is the forest floor, more than the canopy, that prevents surface erosion. The
terminal velocity
of rain drops is reached in about 8 metres (26 feet). Because forest canopies are usually higher than this, rain drops can often regain terminal velocity even after striking the canopy. However, the
intact forest
floor, with its layers of leaf litter and organic matter (see
humus form
), is still able to absorb the impact of the rainfall.
95
96
Deforestation
causes increased erosion rates due to exposure of
mineral
soil
by removing the humus and litter layers from the soil surface, removing the vegetative cover that binds soil together, and causing heavy
soil compaction
from logging equipment. Once trees have been removed by fire or logging, infiltration rates become high and erosion low to the degree the forest floor remains intact. Severe fires can lead to significant further erosion if followed by heavy rainfall.
97
Globally one of the largest contributors to erosive soil loss is the
slash-and-burn
treatment of
tropical
forests
98
For example, on the
Madagascar
high central
plateau
, comprising approximately ten percent of that country's land area, virtually the entire landscape is sterile of
vegetation
, with
gully
erosive
furrows
typically in excess of 50 metres (160 ft) deep and 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) wide.
99
Shifting cultivation
(also called
swidden
cultivation) is a traditional farming system which sometimes incorporates the
slash and burn
method in some regions of the world. This degrades the soil and causes the soil to become less and less fertile.
100
However, there is a debate about what is the worst practice in the
tropics
: slash-and-burn
sustainable agriculture
, with fast recovery of the
secondary forest
after a few years of soft
subsistence agriculture
101
102
or permanent
pastures
and
cash crops
after conventional
logging
, with
soil degradation
(e.g.
lateritization
and
soil compaction
, respectively) preventing any hope of forest and
soil regeneration
103
104
It has been shown in Brazil that along a complete cycle of
slash-and-burn
cultivation (including forest regrowth)
runoff
and
soil loss
decrease
exponentially
from the burned phase of
shifting
to the early stages of
secondary forest
, exhibiting patterns similar to those of a forested area after just 4–5 years of regeneration.
105
Another Brazilian study showed that a fallow period of 15 years after a crop cycle of slash-and-burn agriculture can restore the original soil conditions.
106
Roads and human impact
edit
Erosion polluted the Kasoa highway after downpour in Ghana.
Human Impact
has major effects on erosion processes, first by denuding the land of
vegetative cover
, altering
drainage
patterns, and
compacting
the soil during construction, and next by covering the land in an impermeable layer of
asphalt
or
concrete
that increases the amount of
surface runoff
and increases surface wind speeds.
107
Much of the sediment carried in runoff from
urban areas
(especially roads) is highly contaminated with
fuel
oil
, and other chemicals.
108
This increased runoff, in addition to
eroding
and
degrading
the land that it flows over, also causes major disruption to surrounding watersheds by altering the volume and rate of water that flows through them, and filling them with
chemically polluted
sedimentation
. The increased flow of water through local waterways also causes a large increase in the rate of bank erosion.
109
Climate change
edit
See also:
Land degradation
The warmer atmospheric temperatures observed over the past decades are expected to lead to a more vigorous
hydrological cycle
, including more extreme
rainfall
events.
110
The
rise in sea levels
that has occurred as a result of climate change has also greatly increased
coastal erosion
rates.
111
112
Most part of
Accra
mostly flooded during rainy season, causing environmental crisis in
Ghana
Studies on soil erosion suggest that increased
rainfall
amounts and intensities will lead to greater rates of soil erosion. Thus, if rainfall amounts and intensities increase in many parts of the world as expected, erosion will also increase, unless amelioration measures are taken. Soil erosion rates are expected to change in response to changes in climate for a variety of reasons. The most direct is the change in the erosive power of rainfall. Other reasons include: a) changes in
plant canopy
caused by shifts in plant
biomass production
associated with
moisture
regime; b) changes in
litter
cover on the ground caused by changes in both plant residue
decomposition
rates driven by temperature and moisture dependent soil
microbial activity
as well as plant biomass production rates; c) changes in soil moisture due to shifting precipitation regimes and
evapotranspiration
rates, which changes
infiltration
and
runoff
ratios; d) soil
erodibility
changes due to decrease in
soil organic matter
concentrations in soils that lead to a
soil structure
that is more susceptible to erosion and increased runoff due to increased
soil surface sealing
and crusting; e) a shift of winter precipitation from non-erosive snow to erosive rainfall due to increasing winter temperatures; f)
melting
of
permafrost
, which induces an erodible soil state from a previously non-erodible one; and g) shifts in
land use
made necessary to accommodate new climatic regimes.
113
Studies by Pruski and Nearing indicated that, other factors such as land use unconsidered, it is reasonable to expect approximately a 1.7% change in soil erosion for each 1% change in total precipitation under climate change.
114
Studies performed at the onset of the 21st century predicted increases of rainfall erosivity over the 21st century by 17% in the
United States
115
by 18% in Europe,
116
and globally 30 to 66%.
117
Global environmental effects
edit
World map indicating areas that are vulnerable to high rates of water erosion
During the 17th and 18th centuries,
Easter Island
experienced severe erosion due to
deforestation
and unsustainable agricultural practices. The resulting loss of topsoil ultimately led to ecological collapse, causing mass
starvation
and the complete disintegration of the Easter Island civilization of
Rapa Nui people
118
119
Due to the severity of its ecological effects, and the scale on which it is occurring,
erosion
constitutes one of the most significant global
environmental problems
we face today.
14
Land degradation
edit
Water and wind erosion are now the two primary causes of
land degradation
; combined, they are responsible for 84% of degraded acreage.
13
Each year, about 75 billion tons of soil is eroded from the land, a rate that is about 13–40 times as fast as the natural rate of erosion.
120
Approximately 40% of the world's
agricultural land
is seriously degraded.
121
According to the
United Nations
, an area of fertile soil the size of
Ukraine
is lost every year because of
drought
deforestation
and
climate change
122
In
Africa
, if current trends of
soil degradation
continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to
UNU
's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
123
Recent
modeling
developments have quantified rainfall erosivity at global scale using high
temporal resolution
(<30 min) and high fidelity rainfall recordings. An extensive global
data collection
effort produced the Global Rainfall Erosivity Database (GloREDa) which includes rainfall erosivity for 3,625 stations and covers 63 countries. This first ever Global Rainfall Erosivity Database was used to develop a global erosivity map at 30 arc-seconds(~1 km) based on sophisticated
geostatistical
process.
124
According to a new study published in
Nature Communications
, almost 36 billion tons of soil is lost every year due to water, and deforestation and other changes in land use make the problem worse. The study investigates global soil erosion dynamics by means of
high-resolution
spatially distributed
modelling
(c. 250 × 250 m cell size). The
geo-statistical
approach allows, for the first time, the thorough incorporation into a global soil erosion model of
land use
and changes in land use, the extent, types, spatial distribution of global
croplands
and the effects of different regional
cropping systems
125
The loss of
soil fertility
due to erosion is further problematic because the response is often to apply chemical
fertilizers
, which leads to further water and
soil pollution
, rather than to allow the land to regenerate.
126
Sedimentation of aquatic ecosystems
edit
Soil erosion (especially from agricultural activity) is considered to be the leading global cause of diffuse
water pollution
, due to the effects of the excess
sediments
flowing into the world's
waterways
. The sediments themselves act as
pollutants
, as well as being carriers for other pollutants, such as attached
pesticide
molecules or
heavy metals
127
The effect of increased
sediments loads
on
aquatic ecosystems
can be catastrophic.
Silt
can smother the
spawning beds
of fish, by filling in the space between
gravel
on the
stream bed
128
It also reduces their
food supply
, and causes major
respiratory
issues for them as sediment enters their
gills
129
The
biodiversity
of aquatic
plant
and
algal
life is reduced,
130
131
and invertebrates are also unable to survive and reproduce.
132
While the
sedimentation
event itself might be relatively short-lived, the ecological disruption caused by the
mass die-off
often persists long into the future.
133
Until measures taken in the 1980s for soil erosion control, one of the most serious and long-running
water erosion
problems worldwide was in the
People's Republic of China
, on the middle reaches of the
Yellow River
134
and the upper reaches of the
Yangtze River
135
From the
Yellow River
, over 1.6 billion tons of sediment flows into the ocean each year, originating primarily from water erosion in the
Loess Plateau
region of the northwest.
136
Airborne dust pollution
edit
Soil particles picked up during wind erosion of soil are a major source of
air pollution
, in the form of
airborne particulates
called
dust
. These airborne soil particles are often contaminated with toxic chemicals such as
pesticides
or
petroleum
fuels, posing ecological and public health hazards when they later land, or are inhaled/ingested.
137
138
139
140
Dust from erosion acts to suppress rainfall and changes the
sky
color from blue to white, which leads to an increase in red sunsets.
141
Dust events have been linked to a decline in the health of
coral reefs
across the
Caribbean
and
Florida
, primarily since the 1970s.
142
143
Similar dust
plumes
originate in the
Gobi desert
, which combined with pollutants, spread large distances downwind, or eastward, into North America.
144
Monitoring, measuring and modelling soil erosion
edit
See also:
Erosion prediction
Monitoring and
modeling
of
erosion
processes can help people better understand the
causes of soil erosion
, make predictions of erosion
under a range of possible conditions
, and plan the implementation of
preventative and restorative strategies for erosion
. However, the complexity of erosion processes and the number of scientific disciplines that must be considered to understand and model them (e.g.
climatology
hydrology
geology
soil science
agriculture
chemistry
physics
, etc.) makes accurate modelling challenging.
145
146
147
148
Erosion models are also
non-linear
, which makes them difficult to work with numerically, and makes it difficult or impossible to scale up to making predictions about large areas from data collected by sampling smaller plots.
149
The most commonly used model for predicting
soil loss
from
water erosion
is the
Universal Soil Loss Equation
(USLE). This was developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It estimates the average annual soil loss
on a plot-sized area as:
150
A = RKLSCP
where
is the
rainfall erosivity factor
151
152
is the
soil erodibility factor
153
and
are topographic factors
154
representing length and slope, respectively,
155
is the cover and management factor
156
and
is the support practices factor.
157
Despite the USLE's
plot-scale spatial
basis, the model has often been used to estimate soil erosion on much larger areas, such as
watersheds
continents
, and globally.
158
One major problem is that the USLE cannot simulate
gully erosion
, and so erosion from gullies is ignored in any USLE-based assessment of erosion. Yet erosion from gullies can be a substantial proportion (10–80%) of total erosion on cultivated and grazed land.
159
During the 50 years since the introduction of the USLE, many other soil erosion models have been developed.
160
But because of the complexity of soil erosion and its constituent processes, all erosion models can only roughly approximate actual erosion rates when
validated
i.e. when model predictions are compared with real-world measurements of erosion.
161
162
Thus new soil erosion models continue to be developed. Some of these remain USLE-based, e.g. the G2 model.
163
164
Other soil erosion models have largely (e.g. the
Water Erosion Prediction Project model
) or wholly (e.g. RHEM, the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model)
165
abandoned usage of
USLE
elements. Global studies continue to be based on the USLE.
117
On a smaller scale (e.g. for individual
channels
dams
, or
spillways
), there are erosion rate models available based on the
critical shear stress of erosion
as well as the
erodibility
of the soil. These can be measured using
geotechnical engineering
methods such as the
hole erosion test
or the
jet erosion test
166
Prevention and remediation
edit
See also:
Erosion control
and
Erosion control examples
Terracing
is an ancient technique that can significantly slow the rate of water erosion on cultivated slopes.
windbreak
(the row of trees) planted next to an agricultural field, acting as a shield against strong winds. This reduces the effects of wind erosion, and provides many other benefits.
The most effective known method for erosion prevention is to
increase vegetative cover on the land
, which helps prevent both wind and water erosion.
167
Terracing
is an extremely effective means of erosion control, which has been practiced for thousands of years by people all over the world.
168
Windbreaks
(also called shelterbelts) are rows of trees and shrubs that are planted along the edges of
agricultural fields
, to shield the fields against winds.
169
In addition to significantly reducing wind erosion, windbreaks provide many other benefits such as improved
microclimates
for crops (which are sheltered from the dehydrating and otherwise damaging effects of wind), habitat for beneficial bird species,
170
carbon sequestration
171
and aesthetic improvements to the agricultural landscape.
172
Traditional planting methods, such as mixed-cropping (instead of
monocropping
) and
crop rotation
, have also been shown to significantly reduce erosion rates.
173
174
175
Crop residues
play a role in the mitigation of erosion by
conservation tillage
methods, because they reduce the impact of
raindrops
breaking up the soil particles.
176
177
There is a higher potential for erosion when producing
potatoes
than when growing
cereals
, or
oilseed
crops.
178
Forages
have a
fibrous root system
, which helps combat erosion by anchoring the plants to the top layer of the soil, and covering the entirety of the field, as it is a non-row crop.
179
In tropical coastal systems, properties of
mangroves
have been examined as a potential means to reduce soil erosion. Their complex root structures are known to help reduce wave damage from storms and flood impacts while binding and building soils. These roots can slow down
water flow
, leading to the deposition of
sediments
and reduced erosion rates. However, in order to maintain sediment balance, adequate mangrove forest width needs to be present.
180
Agroforestry
, the mixing of
agricultural crops
with trees, is an efficient mean of mitigating soil erosion, in particular in
tropical climates
with
heavy rains
181
but also everywhere land has been severely
degraded
by
intensive agriculture
activities (e.g.
ravine
lands).
182
Trees act as shelters against wind (thus mitigating
wind erosion
183
and rain (thus mitigating splash erosion and
surface runoff
).
184
See also
edit
Badlands
Biorhexistasy
Bridge scour
Cellular confinement
Coastal sediment supply
Food security
Geomorphology
Groundwater sapping
Highly erodible land
Ice jacking
Lessivage
Riparian zone
Sediment transport
Soil horizon
Soil type
Sphericity
Tillage erosion
Vegetation and slope stability
Vetiver System
Notes
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Further reading
edit
Boardman, John; Poesen, Jean (2006).
Soil erosion in Europe
Wiley
ISBN
978-0-470-85910-0
Montgomery, David (October 2, 2008).
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations
(1st ed.). University of California Press.
ISBN
978-0-520-25806-8
Montgomery, David R. (2007)
Soil erosion and agricultural sustainability
PNAS 104: 13268–13272.
Brown, Jason; Drake, Simon (2009).
Classic Erosion
Wiley
Vanoni, Vito A., ed. (2006).
"The nature of sedimentation problems"
Sedimentation Engineering
. ASCE Publications.
ISBN
978-0-7844-0823-0
Mainguet M. & Dumay F., 2011. Fighting wind erosion. One aspect of the combat against desertification. Les dossiers thématiques du CSFD. N°3. May 2011. CSFD/Agropolis International, Montpellier, France. 44 pp.
Archived
2020-12-30 at the
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. Retrieved
2018-10-24
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