I need some help please. I work for a conservation center and talk a great deal about soil erosion. The problem I am having is when I get a group of children on my tour I am having a difficult time explaining "what" soil erosion is. Can anyone help me explain soil erosion in simple terms because I have a group of 7 year olds this week.
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Soil erosion happens when dirt is moved from one place to another by the wind, water (both frozen- by glaciers, and liquid- by rivers and rain), gravity (when soil creeps down mountains) and also by humans (when we farm, we plough to move the fertile parts of the soil to the top and we remove the less fertile topsoil).
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Erosion is the process of weathering and transport of solids (sediment, soil, rocks and other particles) in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere. It usually occurs due to transport by wind, water, or ice; by down-slope creep of soil and other material under the force of gravity; or by living organisms, such as burrowing animals, in the case of bioerosion.
Erosion is a natural process, but it has been increased dramatically by human land use, especially industrial agriculture, deforestation, and urban sprawl. Land that is used for industrial agriculture generally experiences a significantly greater rate of erosion than that of land under natural vegetation, or land used for sustainable agricultural practices. This is particularly true if tillage is used, which reduces vegetation cover on the surface of the soil and disturbs both soil structure and plant roots that would otherwise hold the soil in place. However, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques such as terrace-building, conservation tillage practices, and tree planting.
A certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, healthy for the ecosystem. For example, gravels continuously move downstream in watercourses. Excessive erosion, however, causes serious problems, such as receiving water sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil.
Erosion is a natural process, but it has been increased dramatically by human land use, especially industrial agriculture, deforestation, and urban sprawl. Land that is used for industrial agriculture generally experiences a significantly greater rate of erosion than that of land under natural vegetation, or land used for sustainable agricultural practices. This is particularly true if tillage is used, which reduces vegetation cover on the surface of the soil and disturbs both soil structure and plant roots that would otherwise hold the soil in place. However, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques such as terrace-building, conservation tillage practices, and tree planting.
A certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, healthy for the ecosystem. For example, gravels continuously move downstream in watercourses. Excessive erosion, however, causes serious problems, such as receiving water sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil.
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Soil erosion is simply the loss of soil.
Soil is either eroded by wind or water, and the top contributors of soil erosion are deforestation, overgrazing and poor farming techniques. These all allow wind and rain to blow (or wash) away exposed soil on the surface
Soil is either eroded by wind or water, and the top contributors of soil erosion are deforestation, overgrazing and poor farming techniques. These all allow wind and rain to blow (or wash) away exposed soil on the surface
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Weathering is the breaking down of large particles into smaller particles.
Erosion is the movement of these particles from its original location.
Erosion is the movement of these particles from its original location.