Soil is a very valuable resource. Strong winds and water currents carry soil particles with them and deposit them elsewhere. The process of carrying away of the topsoil by various agents like rain, rivers and wind is called soil erosion.
Image Source: pleaseconserve.com/wp-content/uploads/shutterstock_77697931.jpg
Factors Leading to Soil Erosion:
1. Deforestation:
Cutting down of trees and excessive farming are particles practices that destroy vegetation and expose land to the action of wind and water. Water runs off the soil surface with great speed and carries the soil particles into rivers which get choked with silt resulting in floods. This problem assumes alarming proportions on hills.
2. Overgrazing
Overgrazing by animals also destroys vegetation making land barren. The topsoil on barren land can then be eroded by water and wind.
3. Poor methods of farming:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Tilling or ploughing loosens the soil which can then be easily eroded by wind and water. Due to excessive farming the layer of humus gets depleted and water-holding capacity of the soil also reduces. The topsoil thus dries up and can be carried away by wind and water.