Thursday, October 8, 2015

2.4.2 - The Lithosphere (KQ4): Soil Erosion and Deterioration

Soil Erosion and Deterioration

As you can see from the previous section, good, fertile soil is imperative to our survival.  Not only does good, stable soil stop sudden mass movements, it provides many of the essential things plants need to live.  These plants and the organisms are the primary source of both food and oxygen, both of which are essential to our survival.

Humans have lived using soil for as long as we have been here.  The "cradle of civilization" was the fertile crescent...meaning it had fertile soils!  Humans have not always done well or realized the importance of maintaining fertile soil...and thus have enticed both erosion and soil deterioration in many parts of the world.  This section will introduce you to 5 ways we have destroyed soil through short video case studies...and the following section will discuss how to prevent and manage these situations.

Agriculture & Deforestation

You can deforest without converting to agriculture land, but often times that is the goal.  Please watch the following video as a case study that shows a case of how both have affected soil quality in Pilon, Cambodia.



Grazing & Compaction

Animal grazing can have a huge impact on the soil structure and can compact the land.  This video explains both very well.



Salinisation

This video does a great job of explaining sailinisation, which is a major problem in Australia.







2 comments:

  1. Soil erosion Soil erosion is a naturally occurring process that affects all landforms. In agriculture, soil erosion refers to the wearing away of a field's topsoil by the natural physical forces of water and wind or through forces associated with farming activities such as tillage.

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  2. lack of importance and knowledge of farming leads people to convert farmland into residential and commercial place.
    It causes heavy damage to soil and converts it into soil erosion
    http://chng.it/rD8K8WH7

    ReplyDelete