Soil Erosion in India

Alex Hennessy

10/31/10

Soil Erosion in India

1. I am focusing on the soil erosion that is happening in India. Soil erosion in India happens mostly on sloped surfaces. Gravity pulls the soil down continuously and creates cracks in the surface. In dry climates, the soil is eroded by wind damage. The rain also damages the soil by changing the dimensions of it when it is wet. This can either be a direct effect of the raindrop, or the “rill and gully” erosion. Rill and Gully erosion is when there is a rainfall and the soil is run off (soilerosion.net). This is becoming a definite problem for India. Almost 130 million hectare of land (45% of total surface area) is affected by serious soil erosion.

2. Erosion in India (and other parts of the world) occurs because of the rapid industrial development and in turn; the steady growth of human life. Human life puts pressure on limited land resources of the country for agricultural, industrial and housing needs of the expanding population (indiahousing.com).

3. The government is trying out different strategies to put an end to soil erosion. The natural modifiers of the soil cannot be stopped very easily (rain, wind, etc.), but the man-made factors (mining, deforestation, construction, etc.) can be regulated and held to a minimum.

Works Cited

http://soilerosion.net/doc/water_erosion.html

http://www.indianetzone.com/41/soil_erosion_india.htm

http://www.indiahousing.com/land-terminology/land-degradation.html