UNIT 1 Ist

UNIT-1: Introduction to Soil and Water Conservation Engineering
Why Soil and Water Conservation: Soil and water are two important natural resources and
the basic needs for agricultural production. During the last century it has been observed that the
pressure of increasing population has led to degradation of these natural resources. In other words
increase in agricultural production to feed the increasing population is only possible if there
sufficient fertile land and water are available for farming. In India, out of 328 million hectares of
geographical area, 68 million hectares are critically degraded while 107 million hectares are
severely eroded. That's why soil and water should be given first priority from the conservation
point of view and appropriate methods should be used to ensure their sustainability and future
availability. Status of global land degradation is shown in Fig. 1.1.
Fig. 1.1 Global soil degradation map
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What is Soil Erosion: The uppermost weathered and disintegrated layer of the earth’s crust is
referred to as soil. The soil layer is composed of mineral and organic matter and is capable of
sustaining plant life. The soil depth is less in some places and more at other places and may vary
from practically nil to several meters. The soil layer is continuously exposed to the actions of
atmosphere. Wind and water in motion are two main agencies which act on the soil layer and
dislodge the soil particles and transport them. The loosening of the soil from its place and its
transportation from one place to another is known as soil erosion.
When sufficient energy is not available to transport a particle, a third phase known as
deposition occurs. In general, finer soil particles get eroded more easily than coarse particles
(silt is more easily eroded than sand). Hence soil erosion is defined as a process of detachment,
transportation and deposition of soil particles (sediment). It is evident that sediment is the end
product of soil erosion process. Sediment is, therefore, defined as any fragmented material,
which is transported or deposited by water, ice, air or any other natural agent. From this, it is
inferred that sedimentation is also the process of detachment, transportation and deposition of
eroded soil particles. Thus, the natural sequence of the sediment cycle is as follows:
Soil Detachment Transportation Deposition
Types of Soil Erosion : According to Origin: Soil erosion can broadly be categorized into
two types i.e. geologic erosion and accelerated erosion.
1.1 According to Origin: Soil erosion can broadly be categorized into two types i.e. geologic
erosion and accelerated erosion.
1.2 Geological Erosion: Under natural undisturbed conditions an equilibrium is established

between the climate of a place and the vegetative cover that protects the soil layer.
Vegetative covers like trees and forests retard the transportation of soil material and act
as a check against excessive erosion. A certain amount of erosion, however, does take
place even under the natural cover. This erosion, called geologic erosion, is a slow
process and is compensated by the formation of soil under the natural weathering
process. Its effect are not of much consequence so far as agricultural lands are concerned.
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1.3 Accelerated Erosion: When land is put under cultivation, the natural balance existing
between the soil, its vegetation cover and climate is disturbed. Under such condition, the
removal of surface soil due to natural agencies takes places at faster rate than it can be built
by the soil formation process. Erosion occurring under these condition is referred to as
accelerated erosion. Its rates are higher than geological erosion. Accelerated erosion depletes
soil fertility in agricultural land.
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Effects of Soil Erosion: The soil erosion adversely affects the livelihood of the
people in one way or other. The major losses and problem occurs due to the soil erosion
from various agents are listed below.
 Siltation of rivers.
 Siltation of irrigation channels and reservoirs.
 Problems in crop irrigation and consequent need of conserving the water.
 Damage to sea coast and formation of sand dunes.
 Disease and public health hazards.
 Soils eroded by water get deposited on river beds, thus increasing their level and
causing floods. These floods sometime have various extreme effects, such as killing
human and animals and damaging various buildings.
 Soil erosion decreases the moisture supply by soil to the plants for their growth. It
also affects the activity of soil micro-organisms thus deteriorating the crop yield.
 Top layer of soil contains most of the organic matter and nutrients, loss of this soil
reducing soil fertility and affecting its structure badly.
Causes of Soil Erosion: No single unique cause can be held responsible for soil erosion
or assumed as the main cause for this problem. There are many underlying factors responsible
for this process, some induced by nature and others by human being. The main causes of soil
erosion can be enumerated as:
(1) Destruction of Natural Protective Cover by
(i) Indiscriminate cutting of trees,
(ii) Overgrazing of the vegetative cover and
(iii) Forest fires.
(2) Improper Use of the Land
(i) Keeping the land barren subjecting it to the action of rain and wind,
(ii) Growing of crops that accelerate soil erosion,
(iii) Removal of organic matter and plant nutrients by injudicious cropping patterns,
(iv) Cultivation along the land slope, and Faulty methods of irrigation
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UNIT-1: Introduction to Soil and Water Conservation Engineering

Fig. 1.1 Global soil degradation map

Soil Detachment Transportation Deposition

1.2 Geological Erosion: Under natural undisturbed conditions an equilibrium is established

 Siltation of irrigation channels and reservoirs.

 Problems in crop irrigation and consequent need of conserving the water.

 Damage to sea coast and formation of sand dunes.

 Disease and public health hazards.

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