Erosion and Human Impact How do humans effect

Erosion and Human Impact How do humans effect weathering and erosion?

Erosion

• Human intervention can increase and decrease erosion. #33

• Human activities, such as reducing forest cover and intensive farming, have changed Earth’s surface #34

• One simple way to keep soil healthy is to ensure that the soil is never bare. That means keeping plants in dirt for as long as possible #35

• Humans can increase erosion through poor farming practices or disturbing the land through development #36

• Man-made structures along the coastline often have the unwanted side effect of enhancing coastal erosion #37

• Man-made structures are sometimes built to help control erosion #38

Construction on steep slopes can lead to mass wasting (erosion by gravity), including slumps and landslides #39

• Due to misusing soil, desertific ation, nutrient depletion of soil, and mass wasting can occur #40

• Mass movement and mass wasting is the downhill movement of large amounts of surface material caused by gravity #41

• Examples of mass movement and mass wasting are creep, rock falls, avalanches, mudslides, mudflow, and rock slides #42 Avalanche Rock Slide

Mud Flow Mudslide

• Creep is a very slow mass movement that goes on for years or even centuries. #43

• You can't see creep happening but leaning fences and poles and broken retaining walls show where it has taken place. #43

• Creep is the slowest type of mass movement #43

• Good Farming Techniques can prevent soil erosion.

Shallow tilling farming

Contour Plowing

Contour Plowing

Windbreaks