Erosion Process in a Clean-Tilled Field - created from Mind Map

Rain is absorbed by the soil

Splash Detachment and Transport

Runoff

Sheet Erosion: Soil loss that occurs as a result of a thin sheet/layer of runoff. Soil is not productive; clay content is lost.

Concentrated Flow: After a max. of 300 ft., sheet flow usually becomes a concentrated flow. It carries a lot more energy; can happen in minutes of intense rainfall.

Rill Erosion: "Soil Erodibility"; Concentrated flow creates rills (channels small enough to be obliterated by normal tillage operations). Runoff water concentrates in streamlets. It has more energy than sheet erosion. Can be "corrected" by tillage but will only occur again, resulting in more soil loss.

Converged Runoff: Rills converge (come together) creating more energy

Ephemeral Gullies (small)

Gully Erosion (large): Erosion channels too large to be erased by ordinary tillage. Deep, relatively straight-sided channels where the soil material is uniformly friable (capable of being easily crumbled) throughout the profile.

Deposition: Causes divergence and downstream in rivers. The process in which soil, sediments, and rocks are added to a landform or land mass.

Streambank Erosion: Removal of soil material from the sides of running streams. Effects relatively small areas; damages productive soils. Soils is lost; plant nutrients are removed; texture changes; structure deteriorates; productive capacity is reduced; fields are dissected; and sediments pollute streams and lakes and pile up on bottomlands in stream channels, and in lakes and reservoirs.