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Be a Soil Erosion Detective
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Step 1. Look around your neighbourhood for signs of soil erosion. But remember, erosion can happen so gradually that evidence of erosion may
be hard to spot. The questions shown below can help your investigations.
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Signs of soil erosion
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- Has soil collected behind stones, sticks, and other objects on the uphill side of sloping land?
- Are there fans of fresh silt or sand at the lower end of fields across roads and along ditches.
- Are there furrows or rills running down the slope?
- Have rills become larger and formed gullies? Can you see fans of soil at the mouths of gullies?
- Are ditches becoming clogged with soil?
- Is there muddy water in ditches, streams and rivers?
- Are there mounds of soil and other debris trapped under branches and twigs lying on the ground?
- Are roots of trees and other plants exposed?
- Is there dust in the air?
- Are there drifts of dust and sand in furrows and depressions?
- Are small plants buried?
- Do the leaves of plants look ragged and torn?
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13. Have dead plants been piled against fences or rolled into hollows?
14. Have fine soil particles been washed or blown away, leaving only small stones and gravel?
15. Is the soil shallow with stones on the surface and many outcrops of rocks?
16. Have deep scars, or gullies, been formed on slopes?
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A rill
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A gully with a
fan of soil
deposited
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Step 2. Make a chart or a map showing the places where you see signs of soil erosion.
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The chart may look like this:
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The map may look like this:
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Step 3. Try to work out why soil erosion is
happening. Ask local farmers if they
know.
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Check up on local soil conservation practices
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There are many things that can be done to prevent soil erosion. Here is a partial list of good soil conservation practices. Talk to people,
and look around your community to find which of these practices are carried out by people in your area:
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- Avoid overgrazing. Do not let too many animals graze on too little land.
- Avoid over-use of crop lands. Do not grow crops too many times without fertilizing the soil.
- Avoid clearing-cutting of forests. Leave some trees to protect the soil and the homes of forest species.
- Leave plants that grow naturally along streams and river banks. This helps stop soil on the banks from being washed into the water.
- If you plough the land, use contour ploughing. Plough across a hill slope rather than up and down the slope.
- Use trees and shrubs as wind breaks to shelter land from strong winds.
- Leave grass strips between ploughed land.
- Keep soil covered at all times. A soil cover may be growing plants or a mulch, such as straw, spread over the soil.
- As soon as rills and gullies form, quickly repair the damage. Logs, stone packs or even old tyres can be used to slow the flow of
water through rills and gullies.
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- Make sure the soil is rich in organic matter. Add manure, green manure or compost. (For composting, see What can you do)
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