What is soil erosion? Write human activities that lead to soil erosion.

(1) Soil erosion: The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion.
(2) Causes for soil erosion:
(l) Human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, construction, mining and other activities are responsible for soil erosion.
(ii) Natural forces like wind, glacier and water also cause erosion. (a) The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes gullies. The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land. In chambal basin such lands are called ravines.
(b) Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope and washes away the top soil. It is known as sheet erosion.
(c) When wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land, it is known as wind erosion. (d) Soil erosion is also caused by ploughing in a wrong way’ i.e., up and down the slope from channels for the quick flow of water leading is soil erosion.