Soil Degradation: Causes, consequences, and solutions
Written by: Admin
Global warming and climate change has taken over the world, ignoring the fact that the soil degradation is the most important environmental issue. Rising population is putting additional pressure on the soil degradation around the world. People are unaware of the economic, health, and environmental impacts of the soil degradation.
What is soil degradation?
Soil degradation is an evolution that occurs when soil loses its quality and productivity. Human activities and natural disasters are primarily responsible for the soil degradation.
There are three main types of soil degradation: soil erosion, Desertification, and Salinization. Let’s review the causes, consequences, and solutions for each types of soil degradation.
Soil Erosion
Causes of soil erosion
- Water can cause soil erosion. Rainfall is an example of water causing soil erosion.
- Wind can also cause soil erosion. The lack of permanent vegetation cover in certain locations can cause soil erosion due to the wind.
- Human activities such as farming, logging, and constructions also cause soil erosion.
Consequences of soil erosion
- Soil erosion can lead to poor crop growth and yield reductions in areas of fields.
- Loss of soil fertility through depletion of plant nutrients in top soil.
- Soil quality, structure, stability and texture can be affected by the loss of soil.
- Eroded soil can ends up as sediment in nearby surface waters where it can pollute water that could potentially kill fish and other species.
Solutions for reducing soil erosion
- Actively participate in the soil conservation programs.
- Maintain a vegetation cover especially in the vulnerable areas (i.e. steep slopes, arid areas).
- Maintain livestock grazing rate to prevent overgrazing.
- In cultivation areas, crop rotation should be used to prevent the soil becoming exhausted.
Desertification
Causes of desertification
- Natural climate change that causes prolonged drought.
- Human activities that reduce or degrade top soil.
- Increased population and livestock pressure on marginal lands accelerates desertification.
- Deforestation
Consequences of desertification
- Economic loses
- Lower living standards
- Major threat to biodiversity
- Prolonged droughts
Solutions to reduce desertification
- Reduce overgrazing and deforestation.
- Limit human activities such as destructive forms of planting, irrigation, and mining that leave soil barren.
- Plant more trees and grasses to anchor soil and hold water.
- Plant leguminous plants that extract nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil to restore fertility.
Salinization
Causes of Salinization
- High level of salt in the soils
- Over cultivation
- Irrigation mismanagement
- Climate trends that favor accumulation
Consequences of Salinization
- Stunts crop growth
- Lowers crop yields
- Destroys fertility and plants
- Damage to infrastructure (i.e. roads, bricks etc.)
- Reduction of water quality
Solutions to reduce Salinization
- Reduce irrigation
- Switch to salt-tolerant crops
- Use humic acids to fix anions and cations and eliminate them from the root region of the plants.
Soil conservation is part of living green. Do what you can to protect the soil and create awareness.
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July 15th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Respectfully, in my opinion there are two vinculated types of soil degradation: erosive and non-erosive degradation. Within the last: physical, chemical and biologica degradationl. On other hand, desertification is a consecuence of a land mismanagement and/or adverse socioeconomical situation, including all types of degradation.