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Soil Erosion: An Environmental Issue

By: Gabriel Bogner, Eli Forouzan, Michael Simozar. Soil Erosion: An Environmental Issue. Overview of Soil Erosion. Before Soil Erosion. Soil erosion- slow process that occurs when wind or water removes parts of soil Problem: causes soil to lose minerals/nutrients

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Soil Erosion: An Environmental Issue

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  1. By: Gabriel Bogner, Eli Forouzan, Michael Simozar Soil Erosion:An Environmental Issue

  2. Overview of Soil Erosion Before Soil Erosion • Soil erosion- slow process that occurs when wind or water removes parts of soil • Problem: causes soil to lose minerals/nutrients • Erodes phosphorus from rocks into water sources • Leads to algal blooms • Decreases water quality After Soil Erosion

  3. Causes of Soil Erosion • Wind and water mainly erode soil • Water and wind removes soil particles • Factors in erosion amount: • Speed: faster agent blows, more soil it can erode • Plant cover: plants protect the soil, more dense plant cover yields less damage from erosion

  4. Different Types of Erosion • Sheet erosion- water erosion, can be seen through lighter soil colors • Wind erosion- occurs through wind, can be very severe • Rill erosion- caused by heavy rains, water bodies form over land making farming challenging

  5. Different Types of Erosion • Gully Erosion- erosion where water forms a deep depression by weathering rocks and soil away • Gullies become impossible to farm on • Ephemeral erosion- erosion that occurs in natural depression • Can still be farmed on

  6. The Problem With Soil Erosion • Plants become unable to grow • Desertification and drought • Floods and famine • Land becomes infertile • Erosion removes top layer of soil first • tends to be most nutrient rich soil • When eroded into water, water quality decreases • Aquatic life hurt

  7. Helping Soil Erosion • How to prevent soil erosion • Cover up susceptible soil • Always grow plants • Benefits of plants • Absorb water that can lead to runoff • Roots hold soil intact • Decrease impact of rain before it hits soil, decreasing erosion effectiveness • Minimize uncovered soil

  8. Helping Soil Erosion • Gardening helps too! • Use fertilizer or dead animal remains • Give nutrients and minerals to soil, allow plants to grow • Use crop rotations • Prevents plants from using all minerals in soil

  9. Helping Soil Erosion • Take matters into your own hands • Allow plants to grow in their natural environments • Suited to receive necessary amounts of resources where plants are indigenous • Do something about water bodies • Stop water flow by putting logs, stones, or sticks • Fix erosion gullies by placing fertile soil

  10. Economics and Soil Erosion • States are doing one (or more) of three things • Control plan required for land disturbances • Research on annual soil losses • Required permits for approved land • Improved research • Assistance from/to other countries • Enforcing fines for violations

  11. Raising Soil Erosion Awareness • Did you know? • In South Africa, it is estimated that 300-400 million tons of soil are lost a year • For every ton of agricultural crop produced, 20 tons of soil on average are lost • Global loss of productive soil through erosion is 5-7 million hectares per year

  12. Contacts • For further questions, go to: • Share-Net. PO Box 394, Howick, 3290. Tel. 0332-305721. • Environmental and Development Agency. PO Box 322, Newtown, 2113. Tel. 011-834 1905 • The Valley Trust. PO Box 33, Botha's Hill, 3660. Tel. 031-777 1930. • The Farmers Support Group. University of Natal, PO Box 375, Pietermaritzburg, 3200. Tel. 0331-68385/6/7. • KwaZulu Dept. Nature Conservation. Head Office, P/Bag X98, Ulundi, 3838. Tel. 0358-700552.

  13. Bibliography • Works Cited • Al-Kaisi, By Mahdi. "Soil Erosion: An Agricultural Production Challenge | Integrated Crop Management." Integrated Pest Management at Iowa State University. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/2000/7-24-2000/erosion.html>. • "Soil Erosion, Maine Department of Environmental Protection." Maine.gov. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.state.me.us/dep/blwq/doceducation/dirt.htm>. • "Soil Erosion." The Department of Biodiversity & Conservation Biology - UWC. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/facts/erosion.htm>. • "Erosion and Sediment Control Laws." Nrcs.usda. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/references/pdf/NRCLawsch3.pdf>.

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