ABSTRACT
Soil degradation due to water erosion is a serious threat to the quality of the soil, land, and water resources upon which man depends for his sustenance. Erosion is the removal of a mass of soil from one part of the earth and its relocation to other parts of the earth. Water erosion is that portion of erosion caused by water. This chapter reviews technology for assessing the potential for soil degradation and to assess the degradation that has occurred because of water erosion. It focuses on the processes of soil erosion by water that cause soil degradation, where soil erosion becomes a problem in soil degradation, and measures for controlling soil erosion to limit soil degradation. Interrill erosion is constant over a slope–as long as soil and surface properties remain constant. Soil degradation usually begins by interrill erosion, but rills and gullies drastically increase sediment detachment and transport down the hillslope.
