The Three Major Causes of Soil Erosion and How to Correct Them

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The Three Major Causes of Soil Erosion and How to Correct Them Rebecca Grani Everest University Online Author Note This paper was prepared for Environmental Science taught by Daniel Cartamil. The Three Major Causes of Soil Erosion and How to Correct Them The Causes of Soil Erosion Desertification is the overall effect of our improper use of our land. Harsh climates also affect desertification. The three major ways of soil erosion are overcultivation, overgrazing, and deforestation. Through studies of each engineers and scientist have developed ways of correcting them. We as humans need our soil to sustain life as we know it. If we lose the soil we would not be able to grow crops for food, animals would not have the vegetation to eat, and our water would not be drinkable. Overcultivation Overcultivation is the practice of growing crops and then cultivating them so rapidly that the soil doesn’t have a chance to regenerate. This leads to the decline in soil productivity and quality. Soil erosion happens when the soil is left exposed after preparation for growing the crops and then again after harvest. Being exposed soil erosion is caused by water and wind. Farmers consider plowing necessary to loosen the soil to improve the aeration and infiltration through it. The tractors weight causes the soil to become impacted so now it can be affected by erosion. Now there is a way to correct the problem. The United States has been using No-till agriculture. This process is done in two steps, the first is spraying of an herbicide to kill weeds, and the second is a tractor pulling a planting apparatus behind it. The planting apparatus does several jobs at once. A steel disk cuts a furrow in the mulch of weeds, and then in the furrow it puts the seeds and fertilizer in, and then closes it. With this method the soil does not get compacted and there is no erosion.

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