Soil and Water Management and Conservation

Soil erosion is the wearing away of the land surface by water, wind, ice, and other geological agents. Erosion of the soil by water is particularly serious since it not only reduces soil productivity through the loss of fertile topsoil, it also degrades water quality when sediment and associated nutrients are transported to water courses. Erosion is a natural process of soil formation and is responsible for much of the land form in the world. However, it is also greatly influenced by man&s;s activities. Some soils erode more readily than others, even when rainfall, slope, vegetative cover, and management are the same. Length, steepness, and shape are components of slope that have significant effects on runoff and soil erosion. The overall erosion process is very complex and current researchers are attempting to separate the process into components that can be explained in a physical rather than empirical sense.