To return to this point, you must click this symbol:

Introduction to Erosion

Soil erosion is actually a natural problem, that is intensified by human activities. It is the removal of soil by wind and water.
The soil becomes loose after:

• loss of nutrients
• a change in soil structure.
• chemical leaching
• salinization
• soil compaction
• changes in vegetation
• loss of soil moisture

Once an area of soil becomes degraded and eroded, it cannot be used as farmland, and for that reason more land has to be purchased. This comes at great monetary and labour costs, not to mention the environmental problems caused by the artificial fertilizers that have to be added to the soil to regenerate it.
The value of the land also decreases and therefore the people farming it harvest less or reduce their stock and eventually end up poorer.
From this we can assume that erosion has social, economic and political consequences.

Soil erosion is not actually a proven problem worldwide. It is accepted that erosion is occuring but it is hard to prove, because there have been no real studies on the subject. Not only this, but the statistics gathered up till now have been taken from small areas and then multiplied various times to convert the answer to that out of a hectare. Not only are the results certainly wrong, they are also meaningless, because erosion only occurs in certain places, at certain rates. These rates of erosion are dependant on local conditions, and cannot be used for all parts of the world.
Many poeple that are kicking up a fuss about the problem often have something to gain from it, such as grants to research the problem.

Soil erosion is a problem that is only relevant in some peoples minds, however it has a far reaching effect and we all have to sit up now and take note if we want to curb the problem.

Causes of erosion

As I mentioned in the 'Introduction to Erosion' erosion is a natural process, that has been aggravated by human actions.
Erosion is often blamed on ignorant farmers who don't know any better. The thing is that erosion is often indirectly caused by political, social and economic problems. Here is an example:
The government sells a large piece of land to an international rancher. This land might falls in the path of a tribe of shifting cultivators. This land is then occupied and the local people where relegated to less productive areas or smaller pieces of ground. The native people are now put in an awkward position. On one hand they have their families to support and on the other they have been taught environmentally-friendly farming techniques and are loathe to break them. Now they have to get the same amount of food, from a smaller area. They therefore have to intensify the food production, shorten fallowing periods and eventually end up destroying the soil structure and leaving the once productive soil wide open to erosion.
This they cannot help because of the situation they have been put into.

Now, back to physical factors involved.
Erosion is a cycle of land that has possibly become degraded, because of a drought or because of poor farming practices. This land is then subjected to rainfall or simply wind. The now loose soil is washed and blown away. This leaves the area rocky, with no value for farming and unusable for forseeable future.
Various factors can influence the degrading process, such as

• Slashing and burning
• One-crop farming
• Deforestation
• Use of poisonous pesticides, that damage the local environment

The effect erosion has on the environment

Erosion has a devastating effect on the environment and on the people who depend on the environment. For this reason it must be prevented at all costs.
Various effects of erosion are as follows:

• destroys all vegetation
• causes the land to lose all value for farming
• makes the area un-inhabitable for animals
• the area becomes bare, with no plant life able to survive

As stated erosion is a killer when it comes to animals and plant life. As the fertile top soil is washed and blown away, the plants have no where to grow and eventually wither and die. The area becomes rocky and arid and the animals have nothing to survive on and either move away from the area or die from starvation.

Erosion also effects the people living in that area. When a persons land becomes eroded, he is unable to use it. This means that he must either:

• decrease his stock
• harvest less
• purchase more land at great cost

For communities, even people uninvolved in the farming world, the prices of goods will rise and people will have to pay more for essential products. So even if you are not a farmer or cultivator of any kind, erosion can still effect you and cause you to lose out.

Solutions to Erosion

Erosion is a problem which needs to be addressed. If we don't look into the problem, we could have a serious problem in a few years when we only have half the amount of land that can be cultivated.

To curb this problem a lot of background work has to be done.

• Government and public officials have to know more about the effects of erosion
• All farmers and people in charge of land must be educated to prevent the problem
• Laws must be introduced specifying a fallowing period
• Adequate land must be set aside for shifting cultivators
• Research must be done on the people living in certain areas before selling land to large ranchers

Resources such as rain forests have to be managed carefully, bans of environmentally damaging pesticides should be introduced and everyone involved in cultivation etc. must be aware of the damaging effects of erosion.

There are many restrictions and bans that could help to stop erosion, but if everyone does his/her bit, and everyone, not only farmers and ranchers, adopt an environmentally friendly attitude, the land is as good as saved.