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How Soil Erosion Occurs and Ways to Mitigate and Protect the Soil from Erosion
Derek Hafstad
ENVL 3432 Soil Science
December 11, 2018

Stockton University
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Abstract

Soil erosion is a natural process due to the influence of water and wind on the soil

surface. It involves the detachment of soil particles, the transportation of those soil particles, and

then the deposition of those soil particles somewhere else. The amount of soil erosion is

proportional to the magnitude of the external force. For instance, the greater the precipitation in a

region, the more soil erosion will occur. Human activity has greatly increased soil erosion,

mainly due to agricultural practices, grazing livestock, and deforestation. This causes a vicious

cycle where human activity degrades the land leading to less production and inevitably more

land being put to use in order to satisfy the need of people. There are many things that can be

done in order to drastically reduce the amount of soil erosion from human activity. The two

biggest things that can be done in order to reduce soil erosion and protect the soil are no till

farming and vegetation barrier. No till farming is where the crop residue is left on the ground and

a machine makes a tiny slit in the ground to place the seed. Vegetation barriers involve placing

plants in between the crop fields in order to trap the soil sediment that is being eroded. Some

studies have shown that these two things can reduce the amount of soil erosion up to 99%. It is

also important to add various grass and shrubs as cover for the soil in regions that are being used

to harvest timber because this to can decrease the soil erosion in that region up to 99%.

Introduction

One of the most important aspects of agriculture is the medium in which food is grown,

soil. Without healthy soil for farming, the billions of people around the world could not be

sustained. This is why the degradation and erosion of soil is such a serious problem. In the past,
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the rise and fall of civilizations could be linked to the quality of their soil. It is because of

destructive and unsustainable practices that people have employed in order to obtain resources

that has led to the erosion of their soil, whether it be farming, timber production, or any number

of actions involving soil. It falls on everyone to be stewards of the soil and prevent its erosion.

Which is why there are many methods to employ in order to protect the soil and prevent its

erosion from occurring.

Body

Soil erosion is the process of soil loss over time. More specifically, it is when the

individual soil particles break off from the soil structure through some external means, and then

it is transported by natural processes like water flow and wind until it is ultimately deposited

somewhere else. (Morgan, 2005) The most noticeable of the medium of erosion are runoff and

wind, but soil erosion can be caused by other factors such as freezing and thawing of soil as well

as artificial influences such as trampling by people or livestock. (Morgan, 2005) The amount of

soil erosion is all dependent on the amount of influence from external factors over time. An area

that gets more precipitation will have more soil erosion than an area that gets less precipitation,

and a plot of land that is tilled by farmers will have more soil erosion compared to an untouched

grassland. In the end, as long as the amount of soil lost is greater than the amount of soil

produced or deposited, there will be soil erosion. (Montgomery, 2007)

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One of the most important causes of soil erosion is rainfall and runoff. This is done in a

three step process. First is when the soil particle breaks off of the soil structure when the raindrop

hits the ground. The impact of the raindrop on the soil transfers the kinetic energy from that

water droplet to the soil particles thus removing it from the soil. (Weil, 2017) It not only

detaches the soil particles from the soil

structure, it also can transport the soil particle

from the impact. Because of this, raindrops

contribute far more to soil erosion than water

moving across the surface. (Weil, 2017) The

next step is the transportation soil particles

across the surface. This is where topography

Figure 1: Three step process of water erosion
comes into play in soil erosion, since the soil

particles moves from higher elevations to lower elevations due to the force of gravity. (Weil,

2017) When the amount of rainfall is greater than the ability of the soil to allow water to

percolate into it, the excess water will flow across the surface resulting in the transportation of

the dislodged soil particles. (Weil, 2017) The last step is the deposition of the soil particles at a

lower elevation, resulting in a soil loss at the source of the rainfall.

While soil erosion is predominantly caused by rainfall in areas of high precipitation, in

more arid regions wind is the driving force of soil erosion. Wind erosion is estimated to degrade

soils as much as two thirds of soil compared to water erosion in the United States. (Weil, 2017)

The process involves winds blowing across dry soils, which in turn transport the soil particles.

Silt and sand textural classes are easier to transport rather than clay, but the finer particles are

much easier to move than larger particles. (Weil, 2017) Wind erosion is also a three step process
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where soil particles are removed from the soil structure, transported and deposited elsewhere.

When wind contains the soil particles, its erosion effects are greater because the wind become

more destructive. (Weil, 2017) When these particles collide with the soil, they can more readily

detach the soil particles still in the soil structure.

There are three ways that wind can transport soil particles. The first is called saltation,

where the particle bounces along the ground. (Weil, 2017) This moves up to 50% to 90% of the

soil particles eroded by wind. (Weil, 2017) The next is soil creep where the larger particles up to

1.0 mm in diameter are rolled along the ground because they cannot be picked up into the wind.

(Weil, 2017) This accounts for 5% to 25% of the particles moved through wind erosion. The last

method of transport is called suspension. This is where smaller soil particles are picked up by

the wind and are transported hundreds of kilometers away. This rarely accounts for more than

15% of the soil erosion by wind. (Weil, 2017)

Several different factors influence the rate of wind erosion in a region. The first is the

wind velocity. The greater the velocity of wind, the greater the amount of soil erosion in that

region, and soil erosion only occurs when the wind reaches speeds greater than 25 km/h. (Weil,

2017) Soil moisture also plays an important role in whether soil erosion by wind is possible. A

wet soil will not be eroded by wind due to the adhesion properties. Another characteristic that

can hinder wind erosion is the amount of roughness of the surface. Where the surface is smooth,

the soil can blow easier, but when there is more roughness, the soil particles can get trapped and

deposited. (Weil, 2017) Things like the soil crust stability, bulk density, presence of clays and

organic matter can also hinder the movement of soil particles through the air. The last thing that

can affect soil erosion by wind is the presence of vegetation. Vegetation hold soil in place and

can slow the wind thus reducing the ability of wind to transport soil particles. (Weil, 2017)
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The combined water and wind erosion can have devastating effects on the remaining soil.

What is more likely to be eroded are the fine particles and organic matter, while what remains is

usually the larger particles. (Weil, 2017) This means that the more productive aspects of the soil

are lost while the less productive parts remain. It is estimated that up to 5 times as much nitrogen

and organic matter, two components necessary for farming, is in the eroded soil compared to the

soil that remains. (Weil, 2017) It is also estimated that around 2 to 3 times as much phosphorous

and potassium are in the soil particles that get eroded compared to what remains. (Weil, 2017)

The result is that the more nutrient rich and valuable topsoil is lost while the less productive

subsoil is what remains. Not only are the remaining soils less productive, the cation exchange

capacity of the soil is also reduced, meaning the soil is not able to hold onto as much nutrients

for plants as it once was. (Weil, 2017) This is because there is less surface area of the remaining

soil particles because the soil particles with the greatest surface area are the finer particles. With

a loss of surface area, there is also a loss of the soil’s ability to hold water through adhesion so

the water holding capacity of soil is also decreased. (Weil, 2017) Other detrimental effects of soil

erosion are a reduction of water infiltration, seeds washed away, and gullies forming in the soil.

(Weil, 2017)

The detrimental effects are not only at the source of soil erosion, but also in the areas

where the soil particles are deposited. The main problem with soil particles being deposited

somewhere else, is that they carry nutrients into the waterways. (Weil, 2017) This further

contributes to the problem of nutrient pollution and eutrophication. Soil particle may also carry

the pesticides used in farming as well as toxic heavy metals that introduced to the soil through

means like sewage sludge. The sediment itself can cause a plethora of problems. If it builds up

along vegetation, it may smother the plants. It could wash into streams increasing its turbidity
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and preventing sunlight from reaching aquatic vegetation. This could result in the disruption of

native fish habitats. (Weil, 2017) Not only will it affects the dissolved oxygen in the water if

aquatic plants are suppressed, it can also build up on the ground covering the stream morphology

necessary for the fish spawning locations. (Weil, 2017) Other problems the deposition of eroded

soil can cause are an increase in flooding when the river depths are shortened or reduced capacity

of reservoirs to hold and provide water for future use. (Weil, 2017)

Although soil erosion is constantly occurring through natural processes, a balance

between the amount of soil lost and soil produced is found which creates the unique soil profiles

for that region. When you introduce human activity into the equation, then soil erosion becomes

a huge problem. The loss of vegetation when there is plowing fields, overgrazing of livestock, or

cutting down trees to put the land to other use reduces the vegetation and thus increases the soil

erosion. (Weil, 2017) This becomes a vicious cycle because these destructive practices lead to

degradation of the soil which leads to soil erosion. But when you have soil erosion, there is

reduced CEC, water infiltration capacity, or other problems with the soil. This means more land

has to be cleared and more soil will be degraded through human activity. (Weil, 2017)

An example of how destructive human activity can be for lands can be shown in the

western United States. Overgrazing has resulted in soil and semiarid regions being eroded and

their protective biological crusts as well as vegetation being destroyed. (Weil, 2017) This along

with tillage in the drier regions which have left millions of hectares of land barren, have made

the soil in that region susceptible to soil erosion. As a result, wind erosion has drastically

increased in the region, ranging from around 4 Mg/ha in Nebraska to 29 Mg/ha in New Mexico,

leading to a huge depression in soil productivity. (Weil, 2017) Although practices have been
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employed in order to decrease the soil erosion of the region, it is not enough with the amount of

damage and soil loss already occurring in the region.

Besides the tillage practices employed on croplands, another major source of soil erosion

is through deforestation. Normally, there is very little soil erosion in a healthy forest, this is due

to the vegetation protecting the soil from the impact of raindrops and high infiltration of water

through the dense O horizon. (Weil, 2017) Timber harvests can be done over large tracts of land,

and have makeshift roads produced through them. (Weil, 2017) This leads to a wide area having

its vegetative protection removed as well as paths of transportation cut through the landscape,

thus leading to a drastic increase in soil erosion.

Since it is not possible to stop rainfall and wind from occurring, it is not possible to stop

soil erosion completely. The main focus should be reducing the amount of soil erosion as

possible without hindering agriculture, grazing, or other land use. (Morgan, 2005) It would be

preferable to limit the loss of soil to the amount of soil produced, but it is difficult the find that

balance because the amount of production can range from 0.1 to 7.7 mm a year. (Morgan, 2005)

Based on the mechanisms of soil erosion previously discussed, the solutions to erosion should

involve protecting the soil from raindrop impact, increase water infiltration into soils, improve

the soil structure, and place barriers to protect the soil. (Morgan, 2005)

One of the best ways to reduce soil erosion is the use as little tillage as possible or not to

till the soil at all. The general term for this is called conservation tillage. This is made possible

because of the use of herbicides to kill weeds rather than till the soil in order to destroy the root

system of weeds. (Weil, 2017) It is also possible because technology has been developed to plant

seeds without the need to loosen the soil. These two factors combined eliminated the need to till

the soil. (Weil, 2017) Besides being good for the soil, it is also beneficial to the farmer because it
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saves them time and money while preserving their soil. (Weil, 2017) With the popularity of

organic farming, different methods are used to replace pesticides, mainly the use of covers to

hinder the growth of weeds. (Weil, 2017) So far, around two fifths of the cropland in the United

States employs some sort of conservation tillage. (Weil, 2017)

There are several different types of conservation tillage. The two main ones are no till systems

where the soil is undisturbed and the seeds are directly planted into narrow slits that are cut beneath the

crop residue. (Weil, 2017) An example of

what this looked like and the machinery

used in accomplishing this is shown in

figure 2. Another form is vertical or

turbo till where using high speeds will

allow for only a shallow disturbance of

the soil and cut up the crop residue.

(Weil, 2017) A third form of conservation tillage is called ridge till, Figure 2: No Till System

where crops are planted on a high ridge. The fourth is strip till where there is shallow tillage used

right before planting. The fifth is mulch till where mulch is placed down as plant residue will

protect the soil from being eroded. The last method is reduced till which is a general category for

any tillage practices that keep more than 30% of the soil covered by plant residue. (Weil, 2017)
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It is also important to add vegetation barriers around crop fields. These are rows of shrubs

that are planted in order to slow the runoff and collect soil particles that have been eroded. As the

vegetation catches the soil particles eroded

because of tillage, they build up and form terraces

which in turn capture even more sediment.

Experiments were done where switchgrass was

planted at every 16 meters in a field of corn with

annual precipitation of 120 mm and a slow of 12

percent. The results are shown in figure 3. The

Figure 3: Results from a Soil Erosion Experiment
result was a drastic decrease in soil erosion for

farms that have been tilled with their crop residues removed. There was also a reduction in soil

erosion across the board, but to a lesser extent for more sustainable practices. Nevertheless, it

shows that vegetative barriers are important in holding soil in place and reducing soil erosion.

For the case of deforestation, there are several things that can be done in order to mitigate

the amount of soil lost. First is to cut back on the amount of trees harvested. If there are some

trees left to hold the soil, especially on steep slopes that have higher erosion rates, the amount of

soil erosion will be decreased. (Weil, 2017) Another is transition to using cables to move the

harvested timber rather than tractors that dig into the soil and require the development of roads to

move around. (Weil, 2017) Better designed roads and trials would also help. It would also be

possible to reduce soil erosion if harvesting is done when it’s dry, since movement of tractors

along wet soil leave indents that can contribute to soil erosion through runoff. The last thing that

can be done in order to prevent soil erosion is to leave vegetative strips along the streams and
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rivers. (Weil, 2017) This will result in the soil particles being captured before they reach the

water and transported further away.

There are other smaller things that could be done to protect the soil in a region. One of

the things that can protect already degraded soil is to fill in gullies. Gullies occur in deserts and

other regions of little vegetation, and they can form after soil has been tilled. (Weil, 2017) They

are created with there is a small rill that constantly gets filled with water and becomes a pathway

for drainage. This causes the water to eat into the land and form gullies, which will continue to

grow year after year. (Weil, 2017) This is a big contribution to soil erosion. If these gullies are

addressed and filled in or have grass planted within them to hold soil, it could drastically reduce

the soil erosion caused by them. It is also possible to put dams within the larger gullies in order

to trap sediment behind them. (Weil, 2017) This sediment can either be left to fill in the gullies

or be used to create terraces to hold soil.

But the important question is how effective these practices can be. Researchers have

looked at studies to see what the reduction of soil erosion is after these practices are put in place.

When looking at the soil erosion in tropical regions, they determined that if vegetation is used to

conserve soil, there is a reduction in soil erosion by 93%. (Labriere et. al., 2015) This includes

adding mulch or growing hedgerows. If something like no-till farming is employed then the loss

of soil due to soil erosion is decreased by up to 99%. (Labriere et. al., 2015) When looking at

logging, if the forests which the trees grown for timber are grown with grass and other

vegetation, then the soil erosion is decreased by 99% compared to a tree farm without any other

vegetation to hold the soil. (Labriere et. al., 2015) For specific numbers, the soil loss in g/m3 per

year is between 1148.6 to 2431.6 for crops in tilled soil while there is only a 5.7 to 12.2 g/m3 per

year loss for crops that employ vegetation and no-till farming. When it comes to tree farms, those
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without vegetation lost between 131.6 to 258.0 g/m3 per year compared to 1.0 to 2.7 g/m3 per

year for a tree farm that adds other vegetation to hold the soil. (Labriere et. al., 2015) With such

as huge decrease in soil erosion, these conservation practices do work to protect the soil.

Conclusion

Soil erosion is a huge problem when it comes to the sustainability of agricultural

practices and food supply. It costs the United States between 30 billion dollars and 44 billion

dollars annually. (Weil, 2017) A lot of these costs are carried by the farmer with the degradation

of his soil and increased need for adding nutrients. But those surrounding the farm can also incur

the costs through flooding when the drainage system is backed up with sediment, the transport of

pesticides, nutrients, and heavy metals, or the destruction of fish habitats. That is why it is so

vital to protect the soil beneath our feet. Over the long term, the amount of damage and the costs

associated with it more than outweigh the short term benefits of using destructive practices that

contribute to soil erosion.

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References
Labrière, N., Locatelli, B., Laumonier, Y., Freycon, V., and Bernoux, M. (2015). Soil erosion in
the humid tropics: A systematic quantitative review. Agriculture, Ecosystems &
Environment 203; 127-139. doi:10.1016/[Link].2015.01.027

Montgomery, D. (2007). Dirt: The erosion of civilizations. Berkeley, CA: University of

California Press. 1-198.

Morgan, R. P. (2005). Soil Erosion and Conservation (3rd ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell
Publishing. 1-304.

Weil, R. R., & Brady, N. C. (2017). The Nature and Properties of Soils (15th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson. 836-897.