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Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. ... Human Impact has major effects on erosion processes—first by denuding the land of ...
If the erosion rate exceeds soil formation, erosion destroys the soil. [76] Lower rates of erosion can prevent the formation of soil features that take time to develop. Inceptisols develop on eroded landscapes that, if stable, would have supported the formation of more developed Alfisols. [77] While erosion of soils is a natural process, human ...
There are two primary mechanisms of stream bank erosion: fluvial erosion and mass failure. Fluvial erosion is the direct removal of soil particles by flowing water. The rate of fluvial erosion is determined both by the force of the flowing water (e.g. faster flow equals more force) and the resistance of the bank material to erosion (e.g. clay is generally more resistant to erosion than sand).
Soil erosion is the main factor for soil degradation and is due to several mechanisms: water erosion, wind erosion, chemical degradation and physical degradation. Erosion can be influenced by human activity. For example, roads which increase impermeable surfaces lead to streaming and ground loss.
The effects of denudation have been written about since antiquity, although the terms "denudation" and "erosion" have been used interchangeably throughout most of history. [3] In the Age of Enlightenment , scholars began trying to understand how denudation and erosion occurred without mythical or biblical explanations.
Eroded hilltops due to tillage erosion. Tillage erosion is a form of soil erosion occurring in cultivated fields due to the movement of soil by tillage. [1] [2] There is growing evidence that tillage erosion is a major soil erosion process in agricultural lands, surpassing water and wind erosion in many fields all around the world, especially on sloping and hilly lands [3] [4] [5] A signature ...
Overgrazing typically increases soil erosion. [7]With continued overutilization of land for grazing, there is an increase in degradation. This leads to poor soil conditions that only xeric and early successional species can tolerate. [8]
Human activity has changed both in the natural environment extensively, usually with negative effects on wildlife flora and fauna. [4] [5] The opposite effect is known as eutrophication or nutrient pollution. [6] Both depletion and eutrophication lead to shifts in biodiversity and species abundance (usually a decline). [7]