SOIL EROSION

Soil erosion refers to the wearing

away of a field's topsoil by the
natural physical forces of water
and wind or through forces
associated with farming activities
such as tillage.

GROUP MEMBERS:
A N G E L L A | AT H I R A | S O N I A | M I L A N | A F I N

CAUSES

1) LAND USE:
USE AND ABUSE ofnaturalresources,
Eg:deforestation,grazing,arablelanduse,faultyfarming
systems,highcropintensity,housingconstruction,miningetc.

2) CLIMATE:

Due to deforestation

DIRECT EFFECT onerosionareprecipitation and wind

velocity.
INDIRECT EFFECT onsoilerosion(waterbalance,
temperatureandrelativehumidity).

3) SOIL:
SOIL PROFILE CHARACTERISTICS includetexture,
structure, water retention and transmission properties.

Due to agricultural
practices

4) HYDROLOGY:
ThedifferentTYPES OF FLOW andtheirVELOCITIES
(turbulentorlaminar,steadyorunsteady,uniformornonuniform)

5) LANDFORMS:
SLOPE GRADIENT, SLOPE LENGTH AND SHAPE OF
SLOPE

Water Erosion

Wind Erosion

EFFECTS AND RISKS OF SOIL EROSION

Reduced crop production
Silting up of reservoirs.
Eroded soil is deposited on riverbeds, raising their levels and
leads to floods.
When the top soil is washed away, the soil strata looses its
fertile layer and thus the water absorption capacity reduces
and further causes flooding.
Loss of humus( this is the source of nutrients due to
decomposition, helps to maintain a uniform Ph, helps prevent
drying and shrinking of the soil and improves aeration.)
Loss of livelihood for farmers, as low productivity.
Increasing number of deaths rates of farmers due o
failure of crop production.
Economic loss

Silting up of rivers

Low crop production

At the national level :

Erosion by wind ( desert areas) : Rajsthan and adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and
Western Uttar Pradesh .These areas receive scanty rainfall. They are devoid of vegetation cover and
have sandy soil.
Water erosion :states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. The flood plains of the Ganga and its
tributaries in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also suffer from the problem of soil erosion caused by water.
These rivers are carving deep furrows and removing fertile top soil. According to one estimate the
Ganga River is transporting about 30 million tonnes of eroded material per year from the Ganga plain to
the Bay of Bengal.
Soil erosion due to shifting cultivation: in tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland,
Mizoram, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc In Tamil Nadu the bad
effects of misuse of land are illustrated in the Nilgiri Hills where potato is one of the main crops. Here
potato cultivation done on steep slopes, sometimes exceeding 60 per cent. This has led to intense
erosion of soil and the yields of potatoes have gone down by about 50 per cent in spite of heavy
application of fertilisers.
Coastal erosion is quite pronounced in the season of monsoon winds and during storms and
cyclones. Several coastal areas in Gujarat, Maharasthra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa have suffered heavily at the hands of sea erosion.

At the state level :

Of the 560 km long coast of Kerala, about 32 km stretch consisting of sandy beaches is subjected to
severe sea erosion. Erosion of beaches along the Kerala coast is evidenced by uprooting of coconut
trees.
near coastline, Idukki, watersheds of Pamba river, Western ghats because of conversion of forest areas
to farming.

Soil conservation

is a combination of all methods of management

and land use that safeguard the soil against depletion or deterioration by
natural or human-induced factors

Mechanical /
engineering

Biological

1. Agronomic
practices
(i) Contour farming
(ii) Tillage and keeping
the land fallow
(iii) Crop rotation,
sowing of leguminous
crops and mixed
cropping
(iv) Mulching
(v) Strip cropping
(vi) Terracing

2. Agrostological
methods
(i) Cultivation of grasses
(ley farming).
(ii) Retiring the land.
(iii) Afforestation and
Reforestation.
(iv) Checking of
overgrazing.

3. Dry
farming
practices

(ii)Check dams,
(iii) Sub soiling,
(iv) Contour terracing,
(v) Contour trenching,
(vi) Terrace outlets,
(vii) Gully control,
(viii) Digging of ponds
and reservoirs, and
(ix) Stream bank
protection.
(x) Pan breaking
(xi)Soil reinforcements
and
Geo- textiles

SOIL CONSERVATION
General Construction Methods
Gully Reclamation
Shelter Belts
Reinforced Earth
Gabion Walls
Masonry Walls
Topsoil and vegetation
Excavation methods
Fill placement and
compaction
Construction on sidelong
ground
Spoil disposal
Gravity walls
Dry stone walls

AS AN ARCHITECT

Landscape planning
Reduce impervious surfaces.
Plant a rain garden.
Use a rain barrel.
Resource Planning
Plant windbreaks.
Restore wetlands.
Plant buffer strips along
stream banks.
Re-establish forest cover.