Losses due to water erosion

i) Damage to soil:

• There is a loss of silty or sandy surface soil and the leaving of a heavy clay layer exposed at the surface.
• Under such conditions, erosion severely damages the soil, because the heavy clay layer may not contain enough aeration porosity to support a good crop.

ii) Soil loss:

• The soil lost through water erosion is usually the most fertile, containing the plant nutrients, humans, and any fertilizers that the farmer has applied.
• Millions of tons of fertile surface soil can be lost forever if it is washed into the sea.
• What is left is less productive and may become completely barren.

iii) Water erosion depletes water supplies:

• As the vicious circle of erosion proceeds, less water percolates into the soil to feed underground supplies.
• Spring marshes and streams dry up more quickly and this leads to further erosion.