state the major types of processes involved in erosion
Answers
“Soil erosion occurs as natural forces such as wind and water remove soil faster than the different soil-forming processes can absorb it.” In general, the erosional process and the soil formation process are in equilibrium. Natural or human factors may throw the balance off.
Soil Erosion Types:
Water Erosion:
• Water is a strong soil erosion agent. The following are the most common forms of water-induced erosion.
Sheet Erosion:
• Sheet erosion occurs when the top layer of soil is eroded over a wide area by flowing water.
Rill Erosion:
• The second stage of sheet erosion is rill erosion. If erosion is allowed to continue unchecked for a long period of time, (rills) or small finger-shaped grooves a few centimetres deep can form on the landscape. The fine rills grow more numerous over time, as well as deeper and broader, and mimic the twigs, leaves, and trunk of a tree. Rill erosion is the term for this.
Gully Erosion:
• This is the third stage of sheet erosion. The rills can deepen and expand as the soil erodes further, eventually transforming into gullies. The removal of vegetation, especially trees with their widespread binding roots, is the primary cause of gully erosion. Gullies tear up farmland, possibly turning the whole region into a wasteland.
Wind erosion:
• In arid and semi-arid lands with little rainfall, the wind is a strong erosion agent. The wind has the potential to transport precious topsoil from one location to another. Wind erosion is a very dangerous form of erosion since most of the world's deserts are expanding due to wind.