what is soil erosion

Soil erosion is the process of the wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a natural process caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents such as water, ice, snow, air, plants, and animals. Soil erosion can be divided into different types based on the erosive agents, such as water erosion, glacial erosion, snow erosion, wind (aeolian) erosion, zoogenic erosion, and anthropogenic erosion such as tillage erosion. Soil erosion can occur at a slow rate that goes unnoticed or at an alarming rate that causes a serious loss of topsoil. Human activities have increased the rate of erosion by 10-50 times worldwide. Excessive erosion causes both "on-site" and "off-site" problems. On-site problems include reduced crop production potential, lower surface water quality, and damaged drainage networks. Off-site problems include sedimentation and pollution of waterways, ecological degradation, soil collapse, and loss of fertile land. Soil erosion can be prevented through sustainable land management practices such as conservation tillage, crop rotation, contour farming, and terracing.