Three Major Causes of Soil Erosion

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Three Major Causes of Soil Erosion Fertile soil is one of the most important ingredients we must have besides seeds and water in order to grow food. Unfortunately, this precious commodity is disappearing at alarming rate. Due to man’s over cultivation, overgrazing and deforestation fertile soil is not as available as it once was. However, with all of our help this can be corrected in time. Plowing or tilling the ground before planting seeds and watering them has been what most farmers do to their land. This practice of over cultivation, however, is one that is also destroying the soil that they feel they are helping. By plowing the soil it leaves it exposed to the elements such as wind that carries this same soil away because of the looseness caused by plowing. With the top soil being removed with major nutrients it can eventually cause the soil to become unfertile. Another cause of soil erosion comes from the overgrazing of land no longer being used to grow crops due to not rainfall. Overgrazing has been a problem for many years and the cause of many disputes between ranchers in the past. The disputes may not result in physical violence anymore, but it is still a serious problem. With no grass to protect the soil from being blown away by wind or washed away by water, erosion begins to occur. With trees being cut down at an alarming rate, deforestation has become a major cause of soil erosion. Due to the dense foliage and rich nutrients that are within a forest, the soil is very rich. Unfortunately, when these same trees are cut down they leave the soil unprotected from the elements. Wind and rain carry the fertile soil away leaving it barren and unfertile. In the end, however, erosion of fertile soil can be corrected. Instead of farmers plowing the land, they can use a technique called no-till agriculture which involves using a tractor along

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