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Soil Erosion. What is soil erosion?. A natural process of soil moving from one place to another. Why is erosion a problem?. Removes valuable resource. Pollutes water and waterways. Types of soil erosion. Splash Raindrops dislodging and detaching soil. Destroys granulation.
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What is soil erosion? • A natural process of soil moving from one place to another.
Why is erosion a problem? • Removes valuable resource. • Pollutes water and waterways.
Types of soil erosion • Splash • Raindrops dislodging and detaching soil. • Destroys granulation.
Types of soil erosion • Sheet • The removal of soil from the surface of an area in thin layers. • Occurs on smooth surfaces. • Slow (often goes unnoticed).
Types of soil erosion • Rill • The formation of many shallow trenches by the movement of water.
Types of soil erosion • Gully • A process where water accumulates in narrow channels and removes the soil from these narrow areas (leaving gullies).
What can we do toprevent soil erosion? • There are 6 major practices to prevent soil erosion: • No-Till • Contour Strip Cropping • Terraces • Field Windbreak • Cover Crop • Grass Waterway
No-Till • A planting method which the field is left almost undisturbed. • Plant materials are left on top of the soil, rather than tilled in.
Contour Strip Cropping • Growing crops that require different types of tillage in alternating strips along a contour. • Slows water runoff. • Used to conserve soil and water. • Can reduce soil erosion by as much as 50%.
Terraces • Earth structure built across the slope to hold water.
Field Windbreak • A strip of trees or shrubs planted to reduce wind erosion and trap blowing snow.
Cover Crop • Green plants plowed under for the purpose of building soil (AKA green manure).
Grass Waterway • Strips of land permanently seeded to grass. • Controls water runoff from sloping land. • Best results when used with strip cropping.