What Does Erosion Mean?
Erosion relates to the natural process(es) of soil being moved from one location to another. This is most often as a result of wind and primarily water movement on the planet's surface. Activities such as farming and land clearing increase the rate of erosion as natural buffers such as trees and topographic features are often removed or otherwise compromised.
Erosion can be controlled, slowed down and in some cases even prevented by land management processes such as the planting of trees and ground covers, the creation of swales and terraces and the placement of other artificial or natural barriers and buffers.
Maximum Yield Explains Erosion
Some of the most impressive natural landmarks have been created or lost due to erosion. The great Niagara Falls were created by glacial activity and subsequent erosion. They continue to be eroded annually with an estimated 2-3 feet (.7-1 meter) loss. Some of the most devastating historical events have been owed to erosion such as flooding and landslides. The period in the 1930s known as the Dust Bowl era caused massive amounts of erosion from Canada down to Mexico, directly affecting hundreds of millions of acres and indirectly affecting billions more.
In the US alone, almost two billion tons of topsoil are lost annually to erosion.
