By: Eric Fabick
SOIL DEGREDATION
DEFINING DEGRADATION

Degradation is a process in which soil is
loosened up through a variety of activities.
Then through the process of erosion (both wind
and water) it is carried away.
WORLD MAP SHOWING SOIL DEGRADATION
FOUR WAYS IN WHICH HUMANS
CONTRIBUTE TO SOIL DEGRADATION

Humans contribute in four different ways

1. Over cultivation – Farmers continually reuse
the same land over and over without ever
contributing any sort of plant matter back. This
loosens soil particles making then susceptible
to erosional forces.

Over grazing – Many grazing lands are open
grasslands which lack a lot of rainfall. By
allowing livestock to over graze the land
becomes susceptible to erosional forces.
LIVESTOCK GRAZING

Poor irrigation practices – By adding water so
areas where it is very dry year round, the salt
level in the soil is increased which effectively
loosens it allowing it so be susceptible to
erosional forces.

Deforestation – This is when trees are cut down
and not replanted so the roots are no longer
present to hold in the soil so the soil becomes
susceptible to erosional forces.
DEFINE DESERTIFICATION

Desertification is essentially a very severe form
of soil degradation. It threatens an estimated
1/5th of earths land.
EXPLAIN HOW WIND AND WATER
CONTRIBUTE TO SOIL EROSION

Once the top soil is loosened by soil
degradation, water and wind is free to basically
take the soil wherever it pleases. This basically
means that wind and water are the main forms
of soil erosion.
FOUR WAYS TO PREVENT WIND EROSION

Shelter Belts – Shelter belts are trees
planted in a line to aid in air resistance.
THIS IS A SHELTER BELT

Planting Crops that grow at different times of
the year aids in causing wind resistance. By
doing this the field never becomes bare.

Farmers never plough the fields in the direction
of the wind. These furrows created by ploughing
acts like a wind tunnel increasing wind speed.
They usually plough fields in the evening or
morning because that’s when wind speeds are
the slowest.
STUBBLE MULCHING

When crops are harvested the stubble is left in
the ground to defends the soil. This creates
increased wind drag which aids in protecting
soil.

Ways to combat water erosion

1. Contour Ploughing on slops creates furrows
that prevents water from successfully flowing
downhill.

Planting strips of grass between crops on a hill
helps anchor the soil in place.

Terracing creates flat areas or varying heights
in a stair like shape. This prevents water
erosion because all of the eroded soil gets
washed down into the next tier.
THE TOP FOUR SOIL EROSION HOTSPOTS OF THE
WORLD
1. Plains and prairies of North America
 Immense pressure to grow more and more
types of grains at a rapid pace to feed the
population quickly wore out the soil. The
constant year round winds and the
convectional rainfall causes the soil to be
eroded and it becomes more and more of a
problem by the year.

Northeast Brazil
 Brazil is an area already dry from years of
drought. They do not have the means to use the
soil for farming. There is little to no protection
to prevent erosion.

The north fringe of the Sahara desert
 The massive expansive of desert covering
nearly 10,00,00 kilometers due to the lack of
vegetation preventing it from being eroded by
the wind,. This causes the desert to slowly
advance to the north.

Southern fringe lands of the Sahara Desert
 This land has one of the worst situations. It is
afflicted by little moisture, overgrazing,
deforestation, the land has been over used for
farming. The land is constantly the target of dust
storms. They have to continue using the already
poor quality land to grow crops required for their
survival. The land is also subject to the constantly
advancing Sahara which threatens to totally
consume the area.
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