Soil Erosion

What is soil erosion?

• A natural process of soil moving from one place to another.

Why is erosion a problem?• Removes valuable

resource.• Pollutes water and

waterways.

Types of soil erosion

• Splash– Raindrops

dislodging and detaching soil.

– Destroys granulation.

Types of soil erosion• Sheet

– The removal of soil from the surface of an area in thin layers.

– Occurs on smooth surfaces.

– Slow (often goes unnoticed).

Types of soil erosion

• Rill– The formation of

many shallow trenches by the movement of water.

Types of soil erosion

• Gully– A process where

water accumulates in narrow channels and removes the soil from these narrow areas (leaving gullies).

What can we do toprevent soil erosion?

• There are 6 major practices to prevent soil erosion:–No-Till–Contour Strip Cropping–Terraces–Field Windbreak–Cover Crop–Grass Waterway

No-Till• A planting method

which the field is left almost undisturbed.

• Plant materials are left on top of the soil, rather than tilled in.

Contour Strip Cropping• Growing crops that

require different types of tillage in alternating strips along a contour.

• Slows water runoff.• Used to conserve soil

and water.• Can reduce soil

erosion by as much as 50%.

                                   

Terraces• Earth structure built

across the slope to hold water.

Field Windbreak• A strip of trees or

shrubs planted to reduce wind erosion and trap blowing snow.

Cover Crop• Green plants plowed

under for the purpose of building soil (AKA green manure).

Grass Waterway• Strips of land

permanently seeded to grass.

• Controls water runoff from sloping land.

• Best results when used with strip cropping.

Diversion