Factors Enhancing in soil
degradation
Causes of Soil degradation, and it’s impacts
Various Causes of Soil Degradation
1. Physical Factors
There are several physical factors contributing to soil degradation distinguished by the manners 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 produce different types of soil erosion (mainly water and wind erosion) and soil
detachment actions, and their resultant physical forces eventually change 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 the soil. Some
bacteria and fungi overgrowth in an area can highly impact the microbial activity of the soil through
biochemical 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
The reduction of soil nutrients because of alkalinity or acidity or waterlogging 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 chemical factors normally bring
forth the irreversible loss of soil nutrients and production capacities such as the hardening of iron and
aluminum-rich clay soils into hardpans.
Effects of Soil Degradation
1. Land 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 the 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. In 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 agrochemicals and soil erosion.
Most of the crop production practices result in the topsoil loss and the damage of soil’s natural
composition that makes agriculture possible
4. Increased flooding
The 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 limit the
domestic uses of the water for the populations that depend on them for survival.
