A presentation on soil erosion conservation consisting of causes of erosion, need for soil conservation along with various prevention techniques for soil conservation.

1. Importance of
Soil Erosion
Conservation

2. 1.
What is Soil Erosion?
Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer
of soil. This natural process is caused by the
dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water,
ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, animals, and
humans.

3. • In accordance with agents, erosion is sometimes divided into :
1. Water erosion
2. Glacial erosion
3. Snow erosion
4. Wind erosion
5. Zoogenic erosion
6. Anthropogenic 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 crop production potential, lower surface water quality
and damaged drainage networks.
Image source : https://www.pinterest.com/pin/583779170430785408/

4. 2.
Causes of Soil
Erosion
The reason for this is that erosion is caused by numerous
actors, originating from both natural processes and human
activities. In some cases, it is the combination of more of these
factors that influence soil stability and health.

5. Natural Causes of Soil Erosion
1. Rainfall and Surface runoff :
Rainfall, and the surface runoff which may
result from rainfall, produces four main
types of soil erosion : Splash erosion which
is generally seen as the first and least severe
stage in the soil erosion process, followed by
sheet erosion, then rill erosion and finally
gully erosion (the most severe of the four).
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6. Natural Causes of Soil Erosion
2. Rivers and Streams :
▰ Valley or stream erosion occurs with
continued water flow along a linear feature.​
▰ Bank erosion is the wearing away of the
banks of a stream or river.​
▰ Thermal erosion is the result of melting and
weakening permafrost due to moving water.
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Eroded valley fill
Spiti River

7. Natural Causes of Soil Erosion
3. Wind Erosion :
▰ Erosion by wind is a common sight in dry
and barren areas where vegetation doesn’t
hold soils in place. Sand dunes consisting of
fine sand particles are the best example of
the wind-induced movement of the upper
soil layer. According to a scientific study in
Sahara Desert, sand dunes can move by 50
to 295 feet throughout one year.
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9. Human Activities causing Soil Erosion
▰ Agricultural
Practices
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. The tillage of
agricultural lands, which
breaks up soil into finer
particles, is one of the
primary factors.
▰ Deforestation
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.
▰ Mining
Mining, one of the activities
that enabled the growth of
our economies, has severely
scared the face of our planet
and destroyed many unique
habitats without mercy.
Some of the world’s largest
mines cut as deep as 0.75
miles into the earth’s
surface.
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10. 3. Ways of preventing
soil erosion
⪢ Increase vegetative cover on the
land, which helps prevent both wind
and water erosion.
⪢ Terracing is an extremely effective
means of erosion control
⪢ Windbreaks (also called
shelterbelts) are rows of trees and
shrubs that are planted along the
edges of agricultural fields
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11. Ways of preventing
soil erosion
⪢ Traditional planting methods,
such as mixed-cropping (instead
of mono cropping) and crop
rotation have also been shown to
significantly reduce erosion rates.
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12. 4. Why do we have to
prevent Soil Erosion?
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.
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13. Land Degradation
Erosion by wind or water is greatly responsible for
nearly 85% of soil degradation throughout the world. A
new study backed by UN estimates that 1/3rd of all the
land is severely degraded worldwide.
Degraded land cannot support these essential soil
functions or growth of vegetation, and therefore, renders
affected land unsuitable for cultivation.13

14. Desertification
In many cases, erosion is the first step that starts the
irreversible transformations of the landscape into the
barren desert. Grain by grain, sand and dirt is picked up
by wind from mismanaged lands and pushed farther and
farther into new territories, slowly swallowing remaining
vegetation and turning the area into the wasteland.
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15. Airborne Dust Pollution
Soil particles picked up during wind erosion of soil are a
major source of air pollution, in the form of airborne
particulates—"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.15

16. Flooding
The deposition of silt in water courses often
obstructs their natural path. This increases the
risk of flooding and further enhances erosion of
water banks, since the water seeks the way to flow
around a newly created obstruction..
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