Soil degradation has been defined as a process that leads to decline in the fertility or future

productive capacity of soil as a result of human activity (United Nations Environment

It occurs whenever the natural balances in the landscape are changed by human activity through
misuse or overuse of soil. Degraded soils which result in poor or no production are also called
problem soils.

Causes of Soil Degradation

There are several physical factors contributing to soil degradation distinguished by the manners

chemical factors normally bring forth irreversible loss of soil nutrients and productivity capacity
such as the hardening of iron and aluminum rich clay soils into hardpans.

Deforestation in which they change the natural composition and structure of the soil. Rainfall,
surface runoff, floods, wind erosion, tillage, and mass movements result in the loss of fertile top
spoil thereby declining soil quality.

All these physical factors produces different types of soil erosion (mainly water and wind
erosion) and soil detachment actions, and their resultant physical forces eventually changes the
composition and structure of the soil by wearing away the soil’s top layer as well as organic
matter. In the long-term, the physical forces and weathering processes lead to the decline in soil
fertility and adverse changes in the soil’s composition/structure.

2. Biological Factors

Biological factors refer to the human and plant activities that tend to reduce the quality of soil.
Some bacteria and fungi overgrowth in an area can highly impact the microbial activity of the
soil through bio-chemical reactions, which reduces crop yield and the suitability of soil
productivity capacity. Human activities such as poor farming practices may also deplete soil
nutrients thus diminishing soil fertility. The biological factors affect mainly lessens the microbial
activity of the soil.

3. Chemical Factors

4. The reduction of soil nutrients because of alkalinity or acidity or water logging are all
categorized under the chemical components of soil degradation. In the broadest sense, it
comprises alterations in the soil’s chemical property that determine nutrient availability.
It is mainly caused by salt buildup and leaching of nutrients which corrupt the quality of
soil by creating undesirable changes in the essential soil chemical ingredients. These

Deforestation causes soil degradation on the account of exposing soil minerals by removing trees
and crop cover, which support the availability of humus and litter layers on the surface of the
soil. Vegetation cover primarily promotes thee binding of the soil together and soil formation,
hence when it is removed it considerably affects the capabilities of the soil such as aeration,
water holding capacity, and biological activity.

When trees are removed by logging, infiltration rates become elevated and the soil remains bare
and exposed to erosion and the buildup of toxicities. Some of the contributing activities include
logging and slash and burn techniques used by individuals who invade forest areas for farming,
rendering the soils unproductive and less fertile in the end.

5. Misuse or excess use of fertilizers

The excessive use and the misuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers kill organisms that assist
in binding the soil together. Most agricultural practices involving the use of fertilizers and
pesticides often entail misuse or excessive application, thereby contributing to the killing of
soil’s beneficial bacteria and other micro-organisms that help in soil formation.

The complex forms of the fertilizer’s chemicals are also responsible for denaturing essential soil
minerals, giving rise to nutrient losses from the soil. Therefore, the misuse or excessive use of
fertilizers increases the rate of soil degradation by destroying the soil’s biological activity and
builds up of toxicities through incorrect fertilizer use.

6. Industrial and Mining activities

Soil is chiefly polluted by industrial and mining activities. As an example, mining destroys crop
cover and releases a myriad of toxic chemicals such as mercury into the soil thereby poisoning it
and rendering it unproductive for any other purpose. Industrial activities, on the other hand,
release toxic effluents and material wastes into the atmosphere, land, rivers, and ground water
that eventually pollute the soil and as such, it impacts on soil quality. Altogether, industrial and
mining activities degrade the soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties.

7. Improper cultivation practices

There are certain agricultural practices that are environmentally unsustainable and at the same
time, they are the single biggest contributor to the worldwide increase in soil quality decline. The
tillage on agricultural lands is one of the main factors since it breaks up soil into finer particles,
which increase erosion rates. The soil quality decline is exuberated more and more as a result of
the mechanization of agriculture that gives room for deep plowing, reduction of plant cover, and
the formation of the hardpan. Other improper cultivation activities such as farming on steep
slope and mono-cropping, row-cropping and surface irrigation wear away the natural
composition of the soil and its fertility, and prevent soil from regenerating.

8. Urbanization

Urbanization has major implications on the soil degradation process. Foremost of all, it
denudates the soil’s vegetation cover, compacts soil during construction, and alters the drainage
pattern. Secondly, it covers the soil in an impermeable layer of concrete that amplifies the
amount of surface runoff which results in more erosion of the top soil. Again, most of the runoff
and sediments from urban areas are extremely polluted with oil, fuel, and other chemicals.
Increased runoff from urban areas also causes a huge disturbance to adjacent water sheds by
changing the rate and volume of water that flows through them, and impoverishing them with
chemically polluted sediment deposits.

9. Overgrazing

The rates of soil erosion and the loss of soil nutrients as well as the top soil are highly
contributed by overgrazing. Overgrazing destroys surface crop cover and breaks down soil
particles, increasing the rates of soil erosion. As a result, soil quality and agricultural
productivity is greatly affected.

Effects of Soil Degradation

Soil quality decline is one of the main causes of land degradation and is considered to be
responsible for 84% of the ever diminishing acreage. Year after year, huge acres of land lost due
to soil erosion, contamination and pollution. About 40% of the world’s agricultural land is
severely diminished in quality because of erosion and the use of chemical fertilizers, which
prevent land from regenerating. The decline in soil quality as a result of agricultural chemical
fertilizers also further leads to water and land pollution thereby lowering the land’s worth on
earth.

2. Drought and aridity

Drought and aridity are problems highly influenced and amplified by soil degradation. As much
as it’s a concern associated with natural environments in arid and semi-arid areas, the UN
recognizes the fact that drought and aridity are anthropogenic induced factors especially as an
outcome of soil degradation. Hence, the contributing factors to soil quality decline such as
overgrazing, poor tillage methods, and deforestation are also the leading causes of desertification
characterized by droughts and arid conditions. On the same context, soil degradation may also
bring about loss of biodiversity.

3. Loss of arable land

Because soil degradation contributes to land degradation, it also means that it creates a
significant loss of arable land. As stated earlier, about 40% of the world’s agricultural land is lost
on the account of soil quality depreciation caused by agro-chemicals and soil erosion. Most of
the crop production practices result in the possible.topsoil loss and the damage of soil’s natural
composition that make agriculture
 4. Increased flooding

Land is commonly altered from its natural landscape when it rids its physical composition from
soil degradation.  For this reason, the transformed land is unable to soak up water, making
flooding more frequent. In other words, soil degradation takes away the soil’s natural capability
of holding water thus contributing to more and more cases of flooding.

5. Pollution and clogging of waterways

Most of the soil eroded from the land together with the chemical fertilizers and pesticides
utilized in agricultural fields are discharged into waterways and streams. With time, the
sedimentation process can clog waterways, resulting in water scarcity. The agricultural fertilizers
and pesticides also damage marine and freshwater ecosystems and the limits the domestic uses of
the water for the populations that depend on them for survival.

Deforestation

Without plant cover, erosion can occur and sweep the land into rivers. The agricultural plants
that often replace the trees cannot hold onto the soil and many of these plants, such as coffee,
cotton, palm oil, soybean and wheat, can actually worsen soil erosion. And as land loses its
fertile soil, agricultural producers move on, clear more forest and continue the cycle of soil loss.

Overgrazing

The conversion of natural ecosystems to pasture land doesn’t damage the land initially as much
as crop production, but this change in usage can lead to high rates of erosion and loss of topsoil
and nutrients. Overgrazing can reduce ground cover, enabling erosion and compaction of the
land by wind and rain.. This reduces the ability for plants to grow and water to penetrate, which
harms soil microbes and results in serious erosion of the land.

Use of Agrochemicals

Pesticides and other chemicals used on crop plants have helped farmers to increase yields.
Scientists have found that overuse of some of these chemicals changes soil composition and
disrupts the balance of microorganisms in the soil. This stimulates the growth of harmful bacteria
at the expense of beneficial kinds.

Solutions of Soil Degradation

Hence, there is a necessity for individuals all over the world to respect forest cover and reduce
some of the human-driven actions that encourage logging. With the reduction of deforestation,
soil’s ability to naturally regenerate can be restored. Governments, international organizations,
and other environmental stakeholders need to ensure there are appropriate measures for making
zero net deforestation a reality so as to inhibit soil degradation.

2. Land reclamation

The outcomes of soil erosion and quality decline are widely irreversible. Still, soil organic matter
and plant nutrients can be replenished. To restore the lost soil mineral matter and organic
content, it would require what is known as land reclamation. Land reclamation encompasses
activities centered towards restoring the previous organic matter and soil’s vital minerals. This
may include activities such as the addition of plant residues to degraded soils and improving
range management.

Salinized soils can be restored by salt level correction reclamation projects and salinity control.
One of the simplest but most forgotten methods of land reclamation is planting of vegetation
such as trees, crops, and flowers over the affected soils. Plants act as protective covers as they
are helpful at making the soil stronger by stabilizing the land surface.

3. Preventing salinization

Just like the old adage states that “prevention is better than cure,” so does the same concept apply
in solving the worldwide problem of soil degradation through salinization. The costs of
preventing salinization are incredibly cheaper than the reclamation projects in salinized areas.
Consequently, actions such as reducing irrigation, planting salt tolerant crops, and improving
irrigation efficiency will have high pay offs because the inputs and the labor-demanding aspects
associated with reclamation projects are zero. Preventing salanization in the first place is thus an
environmentally friendly means of offering solution to soil degradation.

4. Conservation tillage

Proper tillage mechanisms hold as one of the most sustainable ways of avoiding soil quality
decline. This is otherwise known as conservation tillage, which means tillage mechanisms
targeted at making very minimal changes to the soil’s natural condition and at the same time
improving the soil’s productivity. Examples include leaving the previous year’s crop residue on
the surface to shield the soil from erosion and avoiding poor tillage methods such as deep
plowing.

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