Soil erosion
Soil quality is one of the most basic and perhaps least understood indicators of land health. Soil supports plant growth and represents the living reservoir that buffers the flows of water, nutrients, and energy through an ecosystem. The ongoing degradation of the earth’s soils by human activity, particularly agriculture, threatens human potential to feed a growing population. The annual global erosion amounts to about 36 billion tons, of which 10 billion are due to natural causes and 26 billion are the result of human activity (Crosson et al. 1995). The soil or runoff that has been eroded ends up in groundwater, lakes, streams, and rivers. The deposits of excess soil and the contaminates in it, cause further ecological complications. Bodies of water need to be dredged and monitored for contamination. Water levels are lowered with the increasing soil eroded into them, making our world’s water supply a concern directly related to the erosion of soil. The process of soil renewing itself is largely unknown. However, there is consensus on the need for conservation. Evaluating the scope of the problem or predicting the effects that various solutions might have on agriculture and the environment is very difficult. Degra
Organic production preferably should be combined with systems not usually used in agriculture such as cover crops and livestock farming. This requires a larger area than the normal agricultural holding, which must be chosen carefully. Our county’s high demand for grain forces farmers to over work their land. The demand for this grain and the human consumption of grown vegetation are not the only factors leading to soil erosion. The beef industry and our consumption of red meat impacts soil erosion as well. Of the total amount of grain that is grown in the US, 80% of it is fed to livestock. To support our meat centered diet, 260 million acres of U.S. forest must be cleared to create cropland for livestock (Gardner1996). Costa Rican produced beef is even more devastating to the environment. For every ¼ lb. of Costa Rican beef made, one acre of Costa Rican rainforest must be destroyed. This devastation is worsened by the deaths of all the plant and animal species that occur due to habitat loss (Gardner1996). It is essential to the survival of the human race, and all other life forms that several forms of soil conservation practices are used. There is a finite amount of food that our country can produce before our production starts to decrease. Although erosion is a natural process, humans have found several unnatural ways to make soil erosion more severe. To be able to continue to feed the growing population and preserve the species diversity of wildlife and plants we need to have sustainable agriculture practices and soil conservation these efforts are crucial in the prevention of extensive soil erosion. US News & World Report, 9/14/98. http.//www.usnews.soile.com. Dec. 2 1999. Crosson, P. Pimentel, D.Harvey, C.1995. Soil erosion estimates and costs. Science v. 269 p. 461-5.
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Agriculture Elliott,
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Wind Erosion,
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Equation USLE,
American Indians,
Costa Rican,
Resosudarmo1995 Agricultural,
Na Na,
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et al,
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et al 1998,
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al 1998,
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runoff soil,
baffaut et al,
soil science society,
et al 1987,
society america journal,
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Approximate Word count = 2964
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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