Soil Erosion

Question 1

% of China’s soil and arable land that showed contamination

Answer 1

2000-2013 16.1% of china’s soil and 19.4% of Arabe land

Question 2

Top pollutants of soil

Answer 2

Cadmium, nickel and arsenic
Gets into crops due to factory leakages
Harmful if we consume as cadmium damages kidneys

Question 3

Soil pollution prevention action plan

Answer 3

Set up to have 90% of polluted farmland usable by 2020.
To regularly disclose data to public, so they’re aware of dangers of soil contamination.
Heavy metals are a major cause to problem so use other resources.
Illegal dumping of waste from factories due to no enforcement of the law

Question 4

Causes of soil erosion

Answer 4

Overpop
Overgrazing - major cause of desertification. Grazing and trampling and wind. More vulnerable to erosion.
Overcultivation- yields decreasing season by season requiring expansion of areas to be cultivated simply to maintain. Same return on agricultural investment.
Deforestation - land cleared to extend areas under Cultivation - absence of roof systems and loss of vegetation allows easy removal of soil and rain splash erosion

Question 5

Soil contamination causes

Answer 5

Excessive fertiliser use
Polluted water
Heavy metals contaminate 12 million tonnes of grain each year-> annual losses of $2.6 billion
Rapid economic growth
Extensive industrial development and high pollutant emissions suffering deteriorating land quality.

Question 6

Soil contamination effects

Answer 6

Destroys ecosystems by getting into food chains
82.8% or polluted land was contaminated by inorganic material
Millions or hectares of farmland could be withdrawn from production cuz of severer pollution by heavy metals

Question 7

Soil erosion env effects

Answer 7

4.5 billion tonnes of soil scoured away each year costing approx £20 billion in this decade alone
Decrease in farmland activity cuz of loss of soil nutrients through wind and water erosion.
Each year another 180,000 hectares of farmland becomes Salinized. Causing productivity to fall by 27-57%
Almost 1/3 of China’s has become desert.

Question 8

Soil erosion social effects

Answer 8

Loss of trad knowledges and skills
Forced migration due to food scarcity.
Social tensions in reception areas
Almost 100 million peaople in SW China will lose the land they live on within 35 yrs if soil erosion continues at its current rate

Question 9

Economic effect

Answer 9

Reduced income for trad. Economy
Decreased availability of fuel/wood
Increased rural poverty
Causes annual direct economic losses of $6.5 billion

Question 10

Soil erosion solutions

Answer 10

Improve stock quality - vaccination programmes and intro of better breeds - yields of meat and wool will increase without increasing herd size which causes overgrazing.
Use feritlisers to double yields and graze over wider areas reduce soil damage.
Improve farming methods - use crop rotation irrigation and grain storage to reduce pressure on land but there’s a risk of crop failure
Use agroforestry to avoid deforestation. Combines agriculture with forestry allowing farmer to continue cropping while using trees for fuel and timber. Trees protect shade and fertilise soil