Soil Erosion and Conservation
NCERT Class 10 • Contemporary India II • Chapter "Resources and Development" | NCERT Class 11 • India Physical Environment • Chapter "Soils"
Soil Erosion and Conservation
Soil erosion is the removal of the topsoil layer by wind or running water faster than it can form. Since a single centimetre of soil takes hundreds of years to build, erosion is treated as a serious resource loss. Both natural forces and human activity cause it, and both must be tackled together.
Causes and Types of Erosion
- Deforestation removes the root network that binds soil, leaving it loose and exposed.
- Overgrazing by cattle strips the grass cover and hardens the ground.
- Shifting cultivation, called jhum in the north-east, burns forest cover and exposes hill slopes.
- Faulty ploughing down the slope instead of across it channels water and carries soil away.
- Sheet erosion removes a thin uniform layer of topsoil, so it is often noticed only when yields drop.
- Gully erosion cuts deep channels into the land; land so cut up becomes badland, as in the Chambal ravines of Madhya Pradesh.
- Wind erosion blows away loose sandy soil in dry regions such as western Rajasthan.
Conservation Methods
- Contour ploughing means ploughing across the slope so each furrow holds water back.
- Terrace farming cuts steps into hill slopes, widely used in the western and central Himalaya.
- Strip cropping places grass strips between crop rows to break the force of wind.
- Shelter belts are rows of trees planted across the wind, which helped stabilise dunes in western India.
- Gully plugging and check dams stop ravines from spreading.
- Adding organic manure and rotating crops keeps soil structure and fertility intact.
- Afforestation on barren slopes is the cheapest long-term protection against both wind and water erosion.
- Controlled grazing and fodder plots reduce pressure on common pasture land.
- Watershed development treats the whole slope from ridge to valley as one unit.
| Problem | Method | Where Used |
|---|---|---|
| Slope wash | Contour ploughing | Hilly farm land |
| Steep slopes | Terrace farming | Himalayan slopes |
| Wind erosion | Shelter belts | Western Rajasthan |
| Gullies | Check dams and plugging | Chambal ravines |
Badland — land so deeply cut by gullies that it becomes unfit for cultivation.
Hindi me samjhein
परत अपरदन में मिट्टी की पतली परत धीरे-धीरे हटती है, इसलिए यह जल्दी दिखाई नहीं देती। अवनालिका अपरदन गहरी नालियां बनाता है और भूमि को बीहड़ बना देता है।
Exam me kaise aata hai
- Ravines of the Chambal region are called — badland
- Ploughing across the slope is called — contour ploughing
- Shifting cultivation in the north-east is called — jhum
- Rows of trees planted against wind are called — shelter belts
UPSC/State PSC ke liye
- Sheet erosion is the most damaging in the long run precisely because it is gradual and goes unnoticed until productivity has already fallen.
- Soil conservation works best when it combines engineering measures such as check dams with biological measures such as tree cover.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ Gully erosion is less visible than sheet erosion | Gully erosion is very visible; sheet erosion is the hidden one | ✓
✗ Contour ploughing means ploughing down the slope | It means ploughing across the slope | ✓
✗ Terrace farming is used in plains | It is used on hill slopes | ✓
Ek nazar me
- Erosion causes: deforestation, overgrazing, jhum, faulty ploughing.
- Types: sheet, gully, wind; Chambal ravines are badland.
- Conservation: contour ploughing, terracing, strip cropping, shelter belts.
- Engineering plus biological measures work best together.