The causes and consequences of erosion

Erosion is the eating or wearing away of land features. It is caused by a variety of factors, some
natural, others man-made. The consequences can be serious both for the natural world and for
man himself.

The natural causes are weathering, water, ice, wind and change of temperature. The changes may
be very gradual, sometimes taking millions of years and dating back to the major upheavals on
the planet when the earth was very young. Wind and rain driving incessantly against sandstone,
formed originally by immense pressures on early sea-beds and then lifted above sea-level by
volcanic eruption or the clash of land-plates, wears the stone back into sand, thus creating
beaches along the sea-shore. In the case of harder rock such as granite, surfaces are worn
smooth.

Weathering also erodes exposed coastlines in temperate zones. Often cliffs and dunes simply
disappear over perhaps a short period of two or three hundred years. The sea encroaches, and
sometimes coastal villages are lost. There is written evidence of English villages having been
lost under the waves.

The sea also plays its part in the erosion process. The Netherlands, facing the turbulent North
Sea, have for centuries fought the battle against salt water encroachment due to erosion. Great
dykes have been built to exclude the sea, and gradually the low-lying salt flats have been
sweetened and fertilized for agriculture and bulb-growing. In another way, the sea also erodes
rock fragments by friction due to the tides. The smooth pebbles on northern beaches are the
result of their having rubbed together over millions of years.

The great ice-floes attached to the poles play a conspicuous part in regulating sea levels. In
general, sea levels are thought to be rising, though opinions vary as to the rate. At present, many
fear what is called the 'greenhouse effect', i.e. the punching of holes in the ozone layer due to
industrial gases and the use of CFCs. Nations are beginning to agree to eliminate these hazards.
The result might be the melting of the ice-caps causing a devastating rise in sea levels. This
would put much of the land in temperate climates under sea-water.

Slow-moving glaciers also have an effect. Their immense power pulverizes any rocks in their
path. The piles of shale at the foot of many mountains resulted from the pressure of glaciers
millions of years ago.

Wind is probably the greatest single cause of erosion. Where there is no protection given to the
soil, and after a period of drought or intense heat, the soil crumbles to dust and literally blows
away. Man himself can either let this happen or take steps to prevent it. Rain, of course, has a
dual effect. In some circumstances it can wash away the soil into river beds, where it is carried
down to estuaries, often silting them so that they require dredging. Inland, and on flat territory,
rain holds the soil together. Yet rain depends on trees and foliage which cause clouds to
precipitate. The central plains of North America from time to time become dust bowls, simply
because all vegetation has been cleared in favor of large scale, economic cereal growing. The
same clearance of rain forests goes on currently in South America in favor of cash crops.
Conservationists throughout the world are resisting these clearances, but are fighting vested
interests.

The rain forests support a wide variety of animals, birds, insects and plants, many of which can
only exist in their present habitat. This is an added reason for resisting deforestation. Sooner or
later when the forests have gone the climate will change from not and humid to dry. The soil will
crumble and erode.

Tribes dependent on land for grazing and agriculture lose their herds, flocks and food. They
become nomads or refugees and are exposed to epidemic and starvation. Erosion can cause much
human suffering.

Even in temperate countries large-scale farming is now being discouraged, for the foregoing
reasons. In England such farming has meant the destruction of hedges, ditches and trees, aging
spoiling traditional landscapes and the habitats of bird, animal and insect species.

Some erosion is natural and inevitable. Much however is caused by man. Long term conservation
is essential if man is to pass on a beautiful planet to future generations.