Soil Erosion Basics, Types and Causes

As many are aware, erosion is a wide-ranging degradation process that can take place in several areas and involving many substances. One type of erosion is soil erosion, a particular type that can occur in numerous land types and lead to several concerns, from topsoil to underground water quality and many more.

At Erosion Control Services, we’re happy to offer numerous erosion control solutions, from erosion control blankets to wattles and numerous other products for both residential and commercial clients who require them. Whether for construction or any other kind of need, we provide several solutions to ensure soil erosion is not an issue that creates further problems on your site. What kinds of soil erosion do we prevent, and how are they caused to begin with? Here are some basics.

Soil Erosion Basics

As we noted above, soil erosion refers to a specific type of soil degradation, one that can take place on virtually any kind of land. In general, soil erosion can be caused by a variety of sources: Water, rainwater and wind, however, are the three most common.

If too much soil erosion takes place in a given area, there could be significant negative results. Loss of topsoil is a major risk, as is the reduction of crop production potential in the area. This is often due to lower surface water quality, plus damaged drainage networks that take place due to the erosion effects.

Types of Soil Erosion

There are several distinct types of soil erosion:

• Rain drop erosion: Also called splash erosion, this type takes place when falling raindrops impact the soil surface, damaging the crumb structure.
• Sheet erosion: The uniform removal of soil in thin layers based on blowing wind.
• Rill erosion: The most common type of soil erosion, and frequent during heavy rain. It takes place through several narrow channels called streamlets.
• Gully erosion: Due to runoff of surface water causing the removal of soil with drainage lines. Once started, gullies will move by headward erosion or through the slumping of side walls.
• Stream bank erosion: When soil washes up away from banks of a stream or river. In case of a watercourse bed, this is known as scouring.

Causes of Soil Erosion

In addition to running water, which we’ve already gone over, the causes of soil erosion include:

• Soil texture: Looser soil with more small grains will erode faster than other types.
• Slope: A steeper slope will create more erosion risks.
• Rainfall: The more intense the rainfall, the more erosion.
• Deforestation and other human activities: Human interference, such as deforestation, urbanization and others, will also cause soil erosion in many cases.

For more on the types and causes of soil erosion, or to learn about how we prevent this condition for any areas you require, speak to the staff at Erosion Control Services today.