Topsoil Erosion And Its Contributing Factors
One of Mother Nature’s most incredible gifts is topsoil. However, topsoil is often overlooked and its importance is not recognised fully. It is safe to say that without topsoil the world would be in trouble because it would do irreversible damage to ecosystems and to all living creatures. Without topsoil, life on earth could be changed forever for the worse, much in the same way that a nuclear war could block out the sun for years to come having the same effect on life.
It is a scary fact then that topsoil is eroding at an incredibly fast rate. Some scientific reports have estimated that topsoil on Earth could be completely iradicated within 60 years time without massive changes to help prevent this from happening.
farming practices that are intensive have been accused of being the primary reason for global topsoil erosion. The main reasons for topsoil erosion have been the increased use of mass ploughing techniques across the globe. This practice can encourage the breakdown of the organic matter within the topsoil that holds it together. Without this organic content, the topsoil is more susceptible to being blown away by wind and washed away with rain waters.
many scientific studies have proven that farming on large scale has been the primary cause of topsoil erosion. However, for the industry to change it must still take into account the requirements for farming to provide enough food to feed the world. Therefore farming experts are recommending that practices change to incorporate a greater use of ‘No Till’ farming.
Unnecessary topsoil erosion is reduced by the use of ‘No Till’ farming methods. by leaving in stubble from previous harvests, the topsoil is allowed to benefit from the additional organic matter that this practice provides. The extra organic matter will stop the wind and rain from eroding the topsoil.
A concern however is that ‘No Till’ farming produces less crops in the same time and space of conventional farming methods. By not making changes to the way our topsoil is treated will prove to be a costly mistake in more ways than one – something needs to be done about it.
