Soil is the thin surface layer on the earth comprising mineral particles formed by the breakdown of rocks, decayed organic materials, living organisms, water and air.
Soil is formed under specific natural conditions and each of the elements of the natural environment contributes to the soil formation.
Soil is also very important natural resources of India because agricultural production is basically dependent on the fertility of the soil.
Indian soils as well as soil all over the world suffer from a number of problems and among them soil erosion, soil deficiency, desertification are major problems. However soil erosion is the removal of soil by the process of nature particularly wind and water and also by human factors.
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Two natural agents i.e. water and winds are constantly at work indulging in soil erosion. Therefore two prominent soil erosion are (i) water erosion and (ii) wind erosion.
(i) Water Erosion:
During the heavy rain water removes a lot of soil. The soils which readily detached by rain drop splash are sands and silts but coarser particles are not shifted because of their greater volume and weight. Run off water is more responsible for soil erosion. There are various types of soil erosion caused by water such as riling, gulling, sheet wash, rain peeling etc. It erosion unchecked for a sufficient time, numerous finger shaped grooves may develop all over the area.
The whole pattern resembles that of the twigs branches and trouble of trees, called rill erosion with further erosion it turned into gullies. The further cutting of soil by rain water flow ultimately turns the whole land area into band land topography and ravines. In coastal areas tidal waves dash along the coast and cause heavy damage to soil. In the higher reaches of Himalayan soil erosion is on a large scale caused by rainwater and glaciers.
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(ii) Wind Erosion:
This takes place in arid and semi arid lands with little rainfall, the wind acts as a powerful agent of soil erosion causing heavy loss to agricultural land. Winds blowing at considerable speed, remove the fertile, arable top soil. Wind erosion is further accentuated when the soil is dry, devoid of vegetation cover along with over grazing.
Apart from these natural factors human factors are also responsible for soil erosion such as deforestation; overgrazing, faulty method of agriculture with increasing population, the pressure on forest resource is increasing. This has resulted in reckless cutting of forests which has led to the problem of soil erosion as roots of trees and plants bind the soil particles and regulate the flow of water.
The deforestation also results in floods. The large scale damage to soil in Shiwalik range, the Chos of Punjab parts of Haryana, M.P, UP, Rajasthan is largely due to deforestation. Overgrazing along the mountain slope in hilly areas is causing soil erosion such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir etc.
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Much of soil erosion in India is also caused by faulty method of agriculture. The most outstanding faulty methods include wrong plaguing, lack of crop rotation and practice of shifting cultivation. Another example of faulty method of agriculture is the shifting cultivation practiced in some areas of North-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, M.P. etc.