What is soil erosion?
A third environmental impact resulting from human activity is soil erosion. Soil erosion is when particles of soil are transported (carried) by either water, wind, or ice. Soil erosion occurs every time it rains or there is a windy day. Erosion from the movement of ice is rarer and occurs where continental and alpine glaciers are found. 3.1 How long has soil erosion been going on? Whereas certain types of air and water pollution are relatively recent phenomenon, soil erosion is nothing new. Societies have been farming on the delta lands built up at the mouths of rivers for centuries. It’s also important to remember that erosion is a natural process. 3.2 So what’s the big deal? Why is soil erosion such a problem? The issue is not that soil erosion is occurring but the amount of erosion that is occurring as a result of human activity. In the last 100 years, the rate of erosion has increased substantially, even more so in the last fifty years as the human activities that disturb soil and
