Soil Related Problems

At these times, there are a lot of problems pertaining to the maintenance of soil as it is needed to preserve the plant and animal populations. First one is the depletion of soil minerals. Mineral exhaustion can be brought about by overproduction. The most important minerals lost from the soil are nitrates, phosphates and potassium compounds. Soil that is badly depleted of minerals becomes acidic or sour, and lime and fertilizer are added to correct this kind of condition.The next problem is loss of organic matter. Normally the organic matter present in topsoil decays slowly as it is acted…

At these times, there are a lot of problems pertaining to the maintenance of soil as it is needed to preserve the plant and animal populations. First one is the depletion of soil minerals. Mineral exhaustion can be brought about by overproduction. The most important minerals lost from the soil are nitrates, phosphates and potassium compounds. Soil that is badly depleted of minerals becomes acidic or sour, and lime and fertilizer are added to correct this kind of condition.

The next problem is loss of organic matter. Normally the organic matter present in topsoil decays slowly as it is acted on by bacteria and other soil organisms. However, humans may disturb this natural balance by planting and harvesting agricultural crops too frequently. This will just deprive the soil of much organic matter.

Sometimes, woods and native grasses are even burned off in the fields before plowing. This process, together with seasonal clearing fields, diminishes the topsoil part to the extent that much of the soil flora dies out.

The next problem is soil erosion. Erosion is a destructive way by which soil is lost through the action of water and wind. This occurs when the land is stripped of its natural vegetation and also when poor farming methods are applied. Much of the land that is badly eroded today had been abandoned by the farmers who used to till it.

These farmers made use of every square meter of land to the extent that they cultivated hillsides, river bottoms, and other areas, only to leave the area empty and denuded, and thus suited for erosion.

Wind erosion results from natural strong winds or dust storms made possible by man’s carelessness and short sightedness. Water erosion may be of three kinds. They are namely sheet erosion, rill erosion and gully erosion.