Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 in agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, land development

Land development

Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

 and construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

. Effective erosion controls are important techniques in preventing water pollution

Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....

 and soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

 loss.
Erosion controls are used in natural areas, agricultural settings or urban environments. In urban areas erosion controls are often part of stormwater

Stormwater

Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...

 runoff management programs required by local governments.

Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 in agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, land development

Land development

Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

 and construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

. Effective erosion controls are important techniques in preventing water pollution

Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....

 and soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

 loss.

Introduction

Erosion controls are used in natural areas, agricultural settings or urban environments. In urban areas erosion controls are often part of stormwater

Stormwater

Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...

 runoff management programs required by local governments. The controls often involve the creation of a physical barrier, such as vegetation or rock, to absorb some of the energy of the wind or water that is causing the erosion. On construction sites they are often implemented in conjunction with sediment control

Sediment control

A sediment control is a practice or device designed to keep eroded soil on a construction site, so that it does not wash off and cause water pollution to a nearby stream, river, lake, or bay...

s such as sediment basin

Sediment basin

A sediment basin is a temporary pond built on a construction site to capture eroded or disturbed soil that is washed off during rain storms, and protect the water quality of a nearby stream, river, lake, or bay. The sediment-laden soil settles in the pond before the runoff is discharged...

s and silt fence

Silt fence

A silt fence, sometimes called a "filter fence," is a temporary sediment control device used on construction sites to protect water quality in nearby streams, rivers, lakes and bays from sediment in stormwater runoff...

s.

Examples

Examples of erosion control methods include:

• buffer strip
  Buffer strip
  A buffer strip is an area of land maintained in permanent vegetation that helps to control air, soil, and water quality, along with other environmental problems, dealing primarily on land that is used in agriculture. Buffer strips trap sediment, and enhance filtration of nutrients and pesticides by...
  
  
• cellular confinement systems
  Cellular confinement
  Cellular Confinement Systems are widely used in construction for erosion control, soil stabilization on flat ground and steep slopes, channel protection, and structural reinforcement for load support and earth retention...
  
  
• crop rotation
  Crop rotation
  Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.Crop rotation confers various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals...
  
  
• conservation tillage
• contour bunding
• contour plowing
  Contour plowing
  Contour plowing or contour farming is the farming practice of plowing across a slope following its elevation contour lines. The rows formed slow water run-off during rainstorms to prevent soil erosion and allow the water time to settle into the soil...
  
  
• cover crop
  Cover crop
  Cover crops are crops planted primarily to manage soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in agroecosystems , ecological systems managed and largely shaped by humans across a range of intensities to produce food, feed, or fiber.Cover crops are of...
  
  s
• ditch liners
• fiber roll
  Fiber roll
  A fiber roll is a temporary erosion control and sediment control device used on construction sites to protect water quality in nearby streams, rivers, lakes and bays from sediment erosion...
  
  s
• gabion
  Gabion
  Gabions are cages, cylinders, or boxes filled with soil or sand that are used in civil engineering, road building, and military applications. For erosion control caged riprap is used. For dams or foundation construction, cylindrical metal structures are used...
  
  s
• hydroseeding
  Hydroseeding
  Hydroseeding is a planting process which utilizes a slurry of seed and mulch. The slurry is transported in a tank, either truck- or trailer-mounted and sprayed over prepared ground. Helicopters have been used to cover larger areas...
  
  
• level spreader
  Level spreader
  A level spreader is an erosion control device designed to reduce water pollution by mitigating the impact of high-velocity stormwater surface runoff. It is used both on construction sites and for permanent applications such as drainage for roads and highways...
  
  s

• mulching
• perennial crops
  Perennial plant
  A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
  
  
• Polyacrylamide (plasticulture
  Plasticulture
  The term plasticulture refers to the practice of using plastic materials in agricultural applications.The plastic materials themselves are often and broadly referred to as "ag plastics." Plasticulture ag plastics include soil fumigation film, irrigation drip tape/tubing, nursery pots and silage...
  
  )
• reforestation
  Reforestation
  Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
  
  
• riparian strip
• riprap
  Riprap
  Riprap — also known as rip rap, rubble, shot rock or rock armour or "Rip-rap" — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion.It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or...
  
  
• strip farming
  Strip farming
  Strip cropping is a method of farming used when a slope is too steep or too long, or when other types of farming may not prevent soil erosion. Strip cropping alternates strips of closely sown crops such as hay, wheat, or other small grains with strips of row crops, such as corn, soybeans, cotton,...
  
  
• sand fence
  Sand fence
  A sand fence is a structure similar to a snow fence used to force wind blown, drifting sand to accumulate in a desired place. Sand fences are employed to control erosion and to recruit new material in desert areas....
  
  
• vegetated waterway (bioswale)
  Bioswale
  Bioswales are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. They consist of a swaled drainage course with gently sloped sides and filled with vegetation, compost and/or riprap...
  
  
• terracing
  Terrace (agriculture)
  Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
  
  
• wattle (construction)
  Wattle and daub
  Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...
  
  
• windbreak
  Windbreak
  A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
  
  s

Mathematical modeling

Since the 1920s and 1930s scientists have been creating mathematical model

Mathematical model

A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...

s for understanding the mechanisms of soil erosion and resulting sediment surface runoff

Surface runoff

Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...

, including an early paper by Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

 applying Baer's law

Baer's law

In geology, Baer's law, named after Karl Ernst von Baer, says that, because of the rotation of the earth, in the Northern Hemisphere, erosion occurs mostly on the right banks of rivers and in the Southern Hemisphere on the left banks...

. These models have addressed both gully and sheet erosion. Earliest models were a simple set of linked equations which could be employed by manual calculation. By the 1970s the models had expanded to complex computer models addressing nonpoint source pollution

Nonpoint source pollution

Nonpoint source pollution refers to both water and air pollution from diffuse sources. Nonpoint source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Nonpoint source air pollution...

 with thousands of lines of computer code. The more complex models were able to address nuances in micrometerology, soil particle size distributions and micro-terrain variation.

See also

• Bridge scour
  Bridge scour
  Bridge scour is the removal of sediment such as sand and rocks from around bridge abutments or piers. Scour, caused by swiftly moving water, can scoop out scour holes, compromising the integrity of a structure....
  
  
• Burned area emergency response
  Burned area emergency response
  Burned area emergency response is an emergency risk management reaction to post wildfire conditions that pose risks to human life and property or could further destabilize or degrade the burned lands...
  
  
• Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control
  CPESC
  Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control is a qualification indicating the holder has educational training, expertise and experience in controlling erosion and sedimentation, and met certification standards....
  
  
• Coastal management
  Coastal management
  In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defense against flooding and erosion...
  
  
• Dust Bowl
  Dust Bowl
  The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
  
  
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
  Natural Resources Conservation Service
  The Natural Resources Conservation Service , formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service , is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.Its name was changed in 1994 during the Presidency of...
  
   (United States)
• Universal Soil Loss Equation
  Universal Soil Loss Equation
  The Universal Soil Loss Equation is a mathematical model used to describe soil erosion processes.Erosion models play critical roles in soil and water resource conservation and nonpoint source pollution assessments, including: sediment load assessment and inventory, conservation planning and design...
  
  
• Vetiver
  Vetiver
  Chrysopogon zizanioides, commonly known as vetiver , is a perennial grass of the Poaceae family, native to India. In western and northern India, it is popularly known as khus. Vetiver can grow up to 1.5 metres high and form clumps as wide. The stems are tall and the leaves are long, thin, and...
  
  

External links

• "Saving Runaway Farm Land", November 1930, Popular Mechanics One of the first articles on the problem of soil erosion control
• Erosion Control - a trade magazine for the erosion control industry
• International Erosion Control Association - Professional Association, Publications, Training
• ESCN.tv - Erosion and Sediment Control Network - Online TV show dedicated to Erosion and Sediment Control Industry with archives and video library
• WatchYourDirt.com - Erosion Control Educational Video Resource
• Soil Bioengineering and Biotechnical Slope Stabilization - Erosion Control subsection of a website on Riparian Habitat Restoration
• Vetiver Network International - Soil and water management method