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Soil Erosion

Soil is formed by the breaking down or crushing of the rocks. Crushed and powdered
soil is lighter than the rocks. So it can easily be flown away from one place to another.
Natural agents like wind, water and human activities like mining cause flowing away
of the topsoil.
The process of carrying away the topsoil by wind or flowing water is known as soil
erosion. Soil erosion makes the surface uneven, and reduces its fertility.
Another cause of soil erosion is the overgrazing by cattle. Overgrazing reduces the
coverage of land with grass making soil loose and weak.

Soil erosion Overgrazing

Impacts of Soil Erosion Silting

Topsoil is the most fertile layer of the earth, as
it has nutrients in it. Soil erosion washes it
away and exposes the less fertile subsoil to
the surface. Plants cannot grow healthy in
less fertile soil and hard subsoil. Soil erosion
for a longer period of time, can change a
fertile land into a desert.
The washed out top soil carried away by the
wind of water gets deposited in the riverbed
or into the sea. This deposition of the fertile
top soil in water bodies is known as silting.

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