INTRODUCTION
Soil is the precious gift of nature to the mankind. All the plant family, animal kingdom and human society at large depend upon soil for their sustenance directly or indirectly. Ironically, soil is the most neglected commodity on the earth. Shifting cultivation on the hill slopes, non-adoption of soil conservation techniques, and over exploitation of land for crop production due to population stress, leads to enormous soil erosion. It will take hundreds of years to form an inch of soil, but in no time it gets washed away down the slope due to erosion.
SOIL CONSERVATION
Soil Conservation is the process by which the loss of soil is checked, reducing the velocity of run-off through erosion control measures for maximum
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A terrace reduces the length of the hill side slope, thereby reducing sheet and rill erosion and prevents formation of gullies.
There are different types of terraces as follows:
✓ Bench terracing: It consists of transforming relatively steeps land into a series of level or nearly level strips or steeps running across the slope. The soil materials that are excavated from the upper part of the terrace is used in filling the lower part and a small bund is also raised along the outer edge of the terrace to check the downward flow of rainwater and also soil erosion. ✓ Channel terrace: It consists of making of wide but shallow channels across the slope of the land either exactly on contour line or with a slight grade (0.1 to 0.2 per cent). In this process, the excavated soil is placed along the lower edge of the channel in the form of low ridge. ✓ Narrow based terrace: It consists of making a number of narrow based ridges or bunds at a distance of 1m to 2m across the slope of the land at suitable intervals in high rainfall areas. ✓ Broad based ridge terrace: It consists of making wide but low bunds on the contour lines by excavating soils from both sides of terrace. This is practiced in areas where the rainfall is relatively low. ✓ Contour trenching: It consist of making a series of deep pit (i.e. 2ft. wide and 1ft. deep) or trenches across the slope at convenient distance. The soil excavated from the
There are six different types of water erosion: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion, gully erosion, valley or stream erosion, and bank erosion. Splash erosion is when raindrops hit soil and small soil particles are displaced. Sheet erosion is when raindrops remove soil in thin layers. During rill erosion, small concentrated flow paths are created. “These paths create a sediment source and delivery system for hillslope erosion. Areas where precipitation rates exceed soil infiltration rates are more prone to this type of erosion. During gully erosion, water flows in narrow channels during or after heavy rains or melting snow. The gullies can erode to considerable depths. Valley or stream erosion is created by water flowing alongside land. It extends downward, deepening a valley, and extending the valley into the hillside. This occurs more frequently
This investigation will be exploring whether the movement of pebbles, shingle, shells and other materials found on the beach have impacted on the shape and structure of Newhaven beach and Castlehead Cliff. One of the key processes this investigation will focus on is that of long shore drift caused by strong prevailing winds, prevailing wind is the direction from which the wind usually blows. Cliffs are made from mainly two materials, chalk which is at the bottom and sand and clay at the top. If cliffs are facing the direction of prevailing wind it may lead in high rates of cliff
Wave cut platforms are another feature of an erosional coastline. Along coastlines with cliff edges that sit about the shore these features are apparent they look like gently sloping areas of landnear the shore just above sea level. (Chambers, 2007) These benches and marine terraces are the product of wave action eroding the rock at the base of the cliff until the cliff cannot support itself on its new foundation and crumbles into the sea. Over time the collapsed land will have much of the smaller debris eroded away and much of the remaining rock or earth will be somewhat smoothed over to create a gentle slope to the water. (Chambers, 2007)
Extracted soil samples indicate simultaneous reduction of rainfall and occasional erosion. Both soil and sediment features show establishment of marked
To undertake soil reclamation, erosion protection, Site restoration and reinstatement, taking into account natural processes, operational requirements and technical feasibility, to
There are many ways to conserve soil. Windbreaks, cover crops and crop rotation are some methods to conserve soil. Windbreaks are tree lines that are planted around crop fields to provide shelter from the wind which in turn protects the topsoil from erosion. Cover crop is a crop that is planted just to occupy the land but they are not always harvested because the land is occupied by crop year round this reduces soil erosion. Crop rotation is a set of crops planted in order and repeated yearly. Examples of crop rotation are corn could be planted one year, wheat the following year and hay the third year. Crop rotation has various benefits such as the soil health is increased, the water absorption into the soil is increased and most importantly soil erosion is
The ground can be terraced to accommodate the pavers shape and size if your yard is on an incline. This feature makes the pavers ideal for building highly functional pathways.
Geology of major natural system: Overall, in regards to geology, beach dunes are known for typically containing parallel zones of an upper beach area, undulating foredune, transition dune, and lastly a stable dune- which slopes upward and away from the water’s edge (Web World Wonders, n.d.a.). Primarily, all dunes are known to be driven by wave-sand
Geology of major natural system: Overall, in regards to geology, beach dunes are known for typically containing parallel zones of an upper beach area, undulating foredune, transition dune, and lastly a stable dune- which slopes upward and away from the water’s edge (Web World Wonders, n.d.a.). Primarily, all dunes are known to be driven by wave-sand interactions with
The depth of the A horizon is 0-4 inches. This horizon is a loamy soil with a color of 2.5YR 4/2. This horizon usually contains many grass roots which have decomposed to help form this organic material and this soil profile.. This horizon mostly has a weak crusty plate like structure but can also be granular. Ph for horizon A fall around 7.5 -8 on average. Horizon A also has mild carbonates which lead it to have slight effervescent when hydrochloric acid is applied. This horizon which is mostly dominated by grasslands which penetrate the soil and allow water to better infiltrate and a rock content no greater than 5% by volume.
The coastline is also exposed to strong North/North-East winds, which co-enside with a rather generous fetch. Destructive waves are a result, which erode the beaches and attack the foot of the cliffs, removing masses of clay in suspension, resulting in strong marine erosion. The material eroded and transported elsewhere results in little material left to form beaches, which act as a barrier to protect the cliff line from tides, currents and storms, therefore the sea's processed are able to keep cutting back the cliff line.
A parapet is a low protective wall at the edge of a roof, balcony, walkway, terrace or other structure. The word originally comes from the Italian Parapetto meaning ‘Chest-high wall’, coming from para – ‘protecting’ and petto – ‘chest’. The word was first used in the late 16th Century and also has a German equivalent of Brustwehr which means breastwork or rampant.
Erosion removes the surface soils, containing most of the organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants. Thus it affects the productivity of plants. The remaining, the subsoil, tends to be less fertile, less absorbent and less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients. There are over 17,000 soil types recognized worldwide. They vary widely in structure, erodibility, fertility, and ability to produce crops. A generalized soil profile for a humid, temperate climate is showed. When the natural vegetation is cleared for agriculture, soils become exposed to erosion and loss of soil fertility. The removal of the above-ground natural
When a strip foundation is to be used on a sloping site the most economic solution is to use a stepped foundation which will reduce the amount of excavation, construction under ground, backfill and trench support. The provision of stepped foundations following the line of the ground requires each step to be between 150 and 225millimetres in order to accommodate brick or block courses. The lap of concrete at the step should be not less than the depth of the foundation concrete and never less than 300millimetres whichever is the greater.
Significantly, desertification also cause soil erosion, which means soil surface is worn by wind and water. Desertification makes soil easy to erode by water or wind, as soil is exposed and soil structure is instable without forest. LaI R(2003) says that ““Land area globally affected by erosion is 1094 million ha (Mha) by water erosion, of which 751 Mha is severely affected, and 549 Mha by wind erosion, of which 296 Mha is severely affected.” To control soil erosion, an obvious way is virescence, enlarging forest cover, which can protect the soil far from exposing to strong wind. Also, the roots of plants under ground play a role as a framework, as they are obstructions to soil movement,