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Soil Erosion

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Soil Erosion
Environmental Science
Wanda Black
2/12/15

Soil is solid material of geological and biological origin that is changed by chemical, biological and physical processes. This gives the soil the ability to support plant growth. Erosion is the process of soil and humus particles being picked up and carried away by water or wind. Erosion follows when soil is bared and exposed to the elements. This is how soil erosion happens as well as when there are no plants or trees and soil getting swept into the river.
The negative impacts of soil erosion, is overgrazing, over cultivation and deforestation. Overgrazing is grassland that is constantly plowed and crops grown on it. The grasslands don’t get enough rain to support cultivated crops or are too steep for cropping and for grazing livestock. It reduces the ability of plants to grow and water to not penetrate the land. Overgrazing can be prevented by farmers getting information from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). They do testing and analysis of soil. The NRSC have helped decrease soil erosion from 2.1 billion tons in 1992 to 1.7 billion tons in 2007 and made consequences of improved conversion practices such as windbreaks, grassed waterways and field border strips of perineal vegetation. If the land is left untreated it could cause a problem with the food chain. Overcultivation is when the soil has been plowed to control weeds and the soil is exposed to wind and water. The soil may remain bare for a considerable time after planting and again after harvest. Farmers can abandon rotation, degradation and erosion to exceed regenerative processes and the result would be a decline in the quality of soil. Fertilizers should be reduced in order to keep inorganic fertilizer farmers apply, from polluting waterways after soil has loosened its nutrients-holding capacity. Deforestation is the process of removing trees and other vegetation covering soil and converting the forest to another land use, that may lead to erosion and loss of soil fertility. To prevent this, trees should not be cut down and a business should use a building that is already developed.
References
Wright, R.T., D.F. (2011). Environmental Science, Toward a Sustainable Future 11e

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