WEEK EIGHT

Soil

The soil which functions as a covering to the earth is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids
and some organism that act as support to life on earth. It took millions of years to form the soil, called
ground stone (pedolith). It is formed every 100 to 400 years at the rate of 1 cm while the non-renewable
one is destroyed. To build enough soil to form productive land, it takes about 3.000 to 12 000 years.

Soil is where plants grow, and the habitation for some insects and animals, while minerals such as
petrochemicals and gold are also found in it.

Soil erosion

Definition:

Erosion is the wearing away and transportation of the surface of the soil, by which soil or rock material is
removed from one part of the earth to another, through the action of wind or water.

Types of soil erosion

There are three types of erosion, nise sheet erosion, gully erosion and rill ero

1. Sheet erosion: This occurs whens large area is worn away fairly uniformly at the surface. This type of
erosion occur sometimes in a playing field.

2. Splash erosion:occurs when raindrops fall on soil. The soil begins to break into individual particles,
which can easily runoff when water or wind is introduced.

3. Gully erosion: This occurs when a channel is wom out more severely than the surrounding areas, thus
forming a big gap/hole in the soil, called gully or valley or trench.

4. Rill erosion: This happens when the narrow and shallow channels are gradually worn away into
unprotected soil by hill slope run-off. Since soil is regularly left bare during agricultural operations, rills
may form on farmlands during these periods. Rills are fairly visible when first done, so they are often the
first indication of an ongoing erosion problem.

Agents of soil erosion

In the tropical areas of the world, there are two main agents of erosion, namely water and wind.

a) Water: This includes rain drops that fall through the atmosphere and flood water that flows on the
surface of the soil. Water loosens and transports soil particles from one place to another.
b) Wind: In the desert and semi-desert areas, vegetation is scanty, and as a result, the soil is exposed.
The wind is the main agent of erosion here. When the wind blows, it carries large quantities of soil from
the soil surface sometimes as sand storms, from one place to another.

Assignment

1. What is erosion?

2. Mention the agents of soil erosion.

3. List and explain the types of soil erosion.

You

WEEK NINE

Causes of soil erosion

This can be as a result of human activities or the nature of the land and soil itself. Human activities that
cause erosion are as follows:

i) Bush burning: Bush burning destroys the vegetation cover of the soil and exposes the soil surface to
direct action of rain drops, and rain floods, which loosen the soil particles and carry them away.

ii) Overgrazing and overstocking: Allowing farm animals to eat up all the plants on a given piece of land
is called overgrazing. Overgrazing exposes the soil to erosion. Also, livestock trample and break up the
soil, thereby making the soil loose and more prone to soil erosion.

iii) Soil tillage and cultivation: When a farm land is tilled and cultivated, the soil is softened and exposed
to wind, rain drops and rain floods. These conditions promote erosion.

iv) Farming on steep slopes: Before planting crops, farmers usually clear the ground (of vegetation) or till
the ground and make mounds or ridges. In this process, they remove the vegetation cover of the soil
and soften the surface soil. When this is done on a steep slope, it causes rain floods to flow vigorously
down the slope, thereby causing a quick wearing away of the soil surface.

v) Making ridges run in the direction of the slope: When ridges in a farm run in the direction of the slope
of the land, rain floods move fast and can easily erode the soil surface, and carry surface soil particles
away.
Methods of controlling soil erosion

Some methods of controlling erosion are described below.

1 Planting grass: Universities, colleges, schools, individuals offices and factories plant selected grass
types in their play grounds or lawns. The roots of grass bind soil particles so that they are not easily
carried away by flood water

2 Planting of trees(reforestation ): Certain trees are planted to check erosion. Such trees have been
selected because ther have extensive root systems that bind soil particles, and still do well in sandy soils.
In large areas of Enugu State, cashew trees have been planted to check erosion on sandy soils. The
leaves of the cashew trees break the force of rain drops on the soil. The mots of the cashew plants bind
soil particles and prevent easy washing out of the soil particles by rain floods. On the other hand, the
cashew plants produce edible fruits and seech.

3. Making ridges at right angles to the slope: If ridges in a farm are made to run at right angles to the
slope of the land, they help to reduce erosion.

4 Building concrete drainage: Building concrete drainage to move flood waters in a town or city reduces
the amount of soil eroded by the flood water.

5 Terracing: Terracing means creating steps along a slope of land. The steps break the speed of flood
water and, hence, reduce the rate of erosion of the soil as the water flows down the slope.

6 Surfacing roads with bitumen When roads are tarred (covered with bitumen), the bitumen reduces the
wearing away of the soil by rain water or vehicles.

7 Strip farming: In a farm, erosion can be reduced by planting crops that require clearing of the
vegetation (such as yam or cassava, or maize or millet) in alternate strips with those that do not require
cleaning of the vegetation (such as oranges, mangoes, guava). In this way, water flood from the cleared
strips will be stopped in the un-cleared strips.

8 Avoiding overgrazing : This is done by moving animals to other pieces of land to eat plants in order to
provide sufficient time for the grazed lands to recover their loss in terms of nutrients,and regrow.

9 Zero tillage: The Ministry of Agriculture has found that it is not necessary to till the ground for every
crop. Maize can be planted on cleared farmland without tilling the soil. This practice is called zero tillage.
It has the advantage of checking erosion.

(10) Planting of Cover Crops: Cover crops include groundnut, beans and other legumes. These spread
across the soil surface and reduce the direct impacts of rain water and flooding on the soil.

Wind breakers. To
(11) Mulching: Mulching means the covering of ridges, mounds, etc with dry plants or sawdust to reduce
the impact of rain water on the soil.

(12) Strip Cropping: This is the act of planting cover crops alongside non-cover crops in alternating
sequences.

(13) Use of Sandbags: Sandbags can also be used to control soil erosion.

Assignment

List four (4) causes of erosion.

Mention 5 ways erosion can be controlled.

WEEK TEN

Topic: Flooding