Soil Erosion

The vegetation surface type affects runoff since it is in contact with the soil. Once the soil absorbs all the water it can hold, the rest undergoes runoff. Through force of gravity, it moves downslope to other areas, carrying soil particles and sediments along. However, more vegetation cover results in less runoff while less cover results in more soil erosion.

     When this is happening it can take out cars, trucks, buses and sometimes-small houses. All this water flows down to the Colorado River. This is more like a fast flowing concrete because after all the raining and water flow the ground gets so hot that it just hardens into one block like concrete.

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

5. Although there is very little rainfall in deserts, running water is still the most important process of erosion and deposition in arid environments. Describe and explain at least two special conditions in deserts that tend to increase the likelihood of fluvial erosion whenever it does rain.

Storm water runoff gets formed by man-made areas such as driveways, parking areas and roofs. All of these types of surfaces are waterproof surfaces, so when they are placed around lakes, they tend to collect and transport precipitation over the land instead of allowing the water to penetrate into the soil. Storm water runoff affects the soil greatly along with all of the wild life and vegetation that needs the soil to live and form. That is the reason that areas of land around the lakes in Michigan have soil with lesser value than other

Extracted soil samples indicate simultaneous reduction of rainfall and occasional erosion. Both soil and sediment features show establishment of marked

Soil Erosion - When the top layer of soil is worn down due to too much water, ice, or wind.

Soil organisms provide ecosystem services such as maintaining soil fertility and preventing soil erosion. Water, wind, ice, and other agents cause soil erosion, the wearing away or removal of soil from the land. Soil erosion reduces fertility because essential minerals and organic matter are removed. Erosion causes sediments and pesticide and fertilizer residues to pollute nearby waterways ( Wiley, 2009).

A catchment is an area where water is collected by the natural landscape. In a catchment, rain will eventually flow to a dam, creek, river, lake or ocean, evaporate, be used by vegetation and animals or seep into the groundwater system.

Storm water runoff is created when rain falls on paved surfaces that do not allow water to soak into the ground, leading to water moving across the surface of the ground. Storm water runoff takes rain water and flows until it can find a stream or large water source, when the water does this is picks up and carries all types

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 Denver Basin has a semi arid atmosphere in which potential yearly evaporation is around five times greater than yearly precipitation. Most of the precipitation that falls on the land surface either runs off in streams, is evaporated from the surface of the soil, or is consumed by vegetation. Although that may be the case, a little part of the precipitation more often than not diffuses downwards and recharges the groundwater system. In the Denver Basin, a lot of the recharge happens in the highland areas between stream channels in the higher southern part of the basin. Precipitation is more prominent here, and the porous soils derived from the Dawson Arkose allow deep permeation. Recharge here can happen on a local and a regional scale. Locally, water moves from the highland recharge areas

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

Essentially, “porous pavement infiltrates and treats rainwater where it falls” (Ferguson, 2005, 10). The pore space and aggregate base act as rainwater retention, reducing runoff during storm events. Further, particles and pollutants are removed from the water flow through the filtration process, with the underlying soils acting as a second filter treatment area and as a water recharge basin.

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,