Soil degradation can be defined as the decline in soil fertility due to erosion and misuse. Natural processes such as land clearing, erosion, and desertification can lead to a loss of rich nutrients from the soil, resulting in lower levels of organic matter, microbial activity and biological processes.
Degraded soils have been shown to have considerable impacts on crop yields across the world. Erosion, flooding, and unsustainable agricultural practices all contribute to soils degradation through a variety of mechanisms.
Soil degradation is the main factor leading to the depleting soil resource base in India. The degree of soil degradation varies from place to place according to the topography, wind velocity and amount of the rainfall.
Soil is not an inert medium but a living ecosystem that is essential to life. It takes hundreds and thousands of years to form an inch of topsoil, and many more centuries before it is fertile.
While soil degradation is a natural process, it can also be caused by human activity. In the last few decades, soil degradation has been sped up by intensive farming practices like deforestation, overgrazing, intensive cultivation, forest fires and construction work.
These actions disturb soil and leave it vulnerable to wind and water erosion, which damages the complex systems underneath.